CMA secures commitments from Gridserve unlocking EV motorway charging competition March 8, 2022 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured commitments from energy company Gridserve to open up competition on motorways between electric vehicle (EV) charging companies. As part of the legally-binding commitments, Gridserve has agreed not to enforce exclusive rights in contracts with operators Extra, MOTO or Roadchef after November 2026, therefore reducing its contracts by [...]
City minister says UK changes to EU financial services rules will not be a ‘big bang’ March 2, 2022 Overhauling the EU’s financial services rulebook post-Brexit will not be a “big bang” moment and could take several years, according to UK City minister John Glen. Glen told Westminster’s Treasury Select Committee today that the push to reform EU regulation will be an “iterative” process and that any intervention will not “overnight change the competitiveness [...]
Competition watchdog green lights Microsoft’s £13.9bn snap up of Nuance Communications March 2, 2022 UK competition watchdog has given Microsoft’s $19.7bn (£13.9bn) acquisition of Nuance Communications the green light this morning, stating that it did “not give rise to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition”. Tech giant Microsoft snapped up the US-headquartered software firm last April in a push to advance its software capabilities. Nuance offers [...]
City minister John Glen outlines changes to ‘liberate businesses’ from EU regulations March 1, 2022 City minister John Glen has said his changes to EU financial services regulations will “liberate businesses” in the UK as he further outlines his package of reforms. Speaking to the Association of Financial Markets in Europe today, Glen said the post-Brexit changes “will remove unnecessary duplication and red tape for firms that want to raise [...]
High Court ruling: Teletext Holidays broke consumer law with refund failures February 28, 2022 The High Court has ruled that Teletext Holidays broke consumer law by failing to refund customers within the appropriate time period for bookings cancelled due to Covid. The Court agreed with the consumer watchdog that Truly Travel and Alpha Holidays, which traded as Teletext Holidays and Alpharooms, breached travel regulations. Under the Package Travel and [...]
John Glen: How I’m going to reform EU’s Solvency II post-Brexit February 25, 2022 This government has been clear about its vision for turning the UK into the most open and dynamic financial services sector on the planet. We understand the crucial contribution the sector already makes to this country and are determined, post-Brexit, that it fulfil its huge potential. A big part of that will be about unleashing [...]
Open banking’s ‘spaghetti soup’ of regulators needs streamlining, says boss February 24, 2022 The boss of the UK’s open banking body has called for the “spaghetti soup” of regulators overseeing the technology to be streamlined, as fintech firms increasingly push to accelerate its roll out.
Tech giants prefer fines to compliance says EU’s Margrethe Vestager February 23, 2022 Some tech giants may prefer to pay a fine rather than comply, said the European Union's antitrust chief, citing Apple's recent battle with the Dutch courts.
Exclusive: UK’s leading fintech bosses call on government to ramp up efforts to overhaul regulation February 21, 2022 A group of the UK’s leading fintech bosses have called on the Government to ramp up efforts to overhaul regulation and build a world-leading environment for the sector, in a letter seen exclusively by City A.M. Bosses at over 70 of the biggest fintech firms in the UK, including digital banks Monzo and Starling, payments [...]
City watchdog FCA looking to hire hundreds of new staff to get grip on consumer credit market February 21, 2022 The financial services watchdog is recruiting for a number of senior roles in a push to expand its oversight and supervision of the City’s credit space. The Financial Conduct Authority, based in Stratford, is looking for a lead supervisor for credit and debt as well as a director for consumer finance. In the publicly available [...]