Royal Bank of Scotland name ‘under review’ as bank rebuilds its reputation after financial crisis October 8, 2018 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is reportedly considering changing its name to distance itself from the financial crisis 10 years ago. The RBS name is under review as part of a rebrand, chairman Sir Howard Davies said yesterday, as the bank claims to have fixed historical problems as it turns its attention to its [...]
BDO reveals profit boost as it raises concerns over Brexit and audit break-up October 8, 2018 One of Britain’s largest professional services firms has warned that business leaders need clarity to prepare for Brexit and sounded a cautious note over reforms to the audit sector as it revealed rising profit and revenues. BDO posted an underlying revenue of £464.1m in its 2017/18 annual results, released today, an increase of 8.5 per [...]
Frank Field slams financial regulator over delay to pension advice fee decision October 4, 2018 Influential MP Frank Field has slammed the financial regulator for delaying a decision on whether to ban a model of charging for pensions advice which is believed to have driven mis-selling to thousands of retirees. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it sought views on whether to ban contingent charging – where a pension adviser [...]
Watchdog slaps Lloyds with legal demands over PPI failures October 4, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog has handed Lloyds legal directions after the lender failed to meet its obligations around managing accounts with payment protection insurance (PPI), the policy at the centre of a huge mis-selling scandal. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called on the lender to “put effective systems and procedures in place” after it [...]
Here’s how business groups have reacted to Theresa May’s conference speech October 3, 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May used her conference speech today to attack Labour’s plans on the economy and slap down her Conservative party rivals – saying austerity was “over” and promising to fix the “broken” housing market. Business groups have been keenly awaiting May’s speech, as she fights off rebellions from her own MPs and attempts [...]
City watchdog boss rejects calls for financial services deregulation post-Brexit October 2, 2018 The chair of the Financial Conduct Authority today said that the City regulator will not engage in a “race to the bottom” after Brexit in a bid to preserve the UK’s position among global financial centres. Charles Randell said calls for deregulation from some quarters of the financial sector show that “some memories are beginning [...]
PwC global chair says firm ‘cannot rest on laurels’ as global revenues pass $40bn October 2, 2018 The global chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has said audit remains “at the heart of what we do”, after global revenues at the professional services giant rose above $40bn (£30.66bn) for the first time despite a series of accounting scandals. Total revenue across PwC’s international network of firms hit $41.3bn, a seven per cent rise in [...]
Aldi may drop prices to compete with Tesco’s new budget venture Jack’s October 1, 2018 Low-cost supermarket chain Aldi "will never be beaten on price", and could even drop them in response to Tesco's new low-cost venture Jack's, it said today. UK and Ireland chief executive Giles Hurley said Aldi welcomes competition from new players such as Jack's, adding: "If we need to reduce retail prices we will." Read more: Drastic Dave's no-frills move must [...]
Pressure mounts on the CMA to break up accountancy’s Big Four October 1, 2018 The UK’s competition body has been told to “bare its teeth” and investigate breaking up the Big Four accountancy firms, as it prepares to announce a decision on whether it will investigate the sector. Three senior politicians from across the main parties have called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to find ways to [...]
Business secretary Greg Clark orders competition watchdog to carry out review of audit sector September 29, 2018 Business secretary Greg Clark has ordered the competition watchdog to carry out a sweeping review of the UK's audit sector. In a year when the Big Four audit firms have been hit by numerous scandals, Clark has told Andrew Tyrie, head of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to carry out the review into competition in [...]