Many questions remain unanswered – and unconsidered – on access to financial services, finds report published by watchdog May 24, 2016 The financial industry is not asking the right questions to address problems with access to services, a report published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today argues. The study cautions that those organisations which could help to improve the financial services marketplace need to be more strategic in their approach and urges stakeholders, including the government, regulators [...]
The bosses of eight challenger banks have slammed the CMA for failing to push for change on capital requirements May 24, 2016 Chief executives from eight challenger banks have slammed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for failing to look at the capital requirements on small lenders. The CMA's report into the retail banking sector, published last week, called on banks to set maximum monthly charges for unauthorised overdrafts and to ease the process of switching current [...]
Reform Openreach’s relationship with BT or public anger at the UK broadband market will only rise May 24, 2016 Anyone who read the papers last week might be forgiven for thinking that Britain’s broadband troubles are over. After years of rising anger about poor reliability, speed and coverage, a new piece of legislation is on the way, aiming to deliver universal coverage. Unfortunately, this is not a panacea and, while the recently announced Digital [...]
Ladbrokes-Coral website would be third most visited sports gambling site in the UK May 23, 2016 Ladbrokes and Gala Coral are set to have the UK's third biggest sports gambling website if the merger between the gambling majors goes through. Ladbrokes was the fourth most popular UK site for monthly combined mobile and desktop visits in 2015, and would gain the online traffic of sixth-placed Coral if the merger goes through, according to new [...]
Ladbrokes takes step closer to Coral takeover – but it could be forced to shut 400 shops first May 20, 2016 Shares in Ladbrokes were up almost 12 per cent this morning, after the competition watchdog suggested its takeover of Gala Coral was nearing the final furlong. But first the betting chain could be forced to close as many as 400 shops. Shares in the bookie hit 133.3p in mid-morning trading after the Competition and Markets [...]
P2P lending: Why the Lending Club fiasco won’t send us all back to the dark ages May 19, 2016 You'd be forgiven for thinking, following last week’s news that Lending Club’s chief executive Renaud Laplanche was stepping down amid allegations around loan sales and misconduct, that this is the end of P2P lending as we know it. Commentators have been quick to discredit the P2P sector, with online lenders labelled “banks in disguise”, up [...]
85 per cent of Brits would rather their bank didn’t offer unauthorised overdrafts May 18, 2016 Almost nine out of 10 UK adults would rather their bank did not offer unauthorised overdraft facilities, according to a new survey. The survey, commissioned by digital current account provider Ffrees, asked 2,014 Britons about overdrafts, and found that 85 per cent would reject the opportunity to go overdrawn without previously agreeing to it. Of those surveyed, [...]
Energy supplier SSE reports profits drop amid “intense” competition May 18, 2016 Energy supplier SSE has seen its profits drop amid “intense retail market competition”. The figures The FTSE 100 company’s reported pre-tax profit was £593.3m for the year to 31 March, down 19.3 per cent from £735.2m. Adjusted pre-tax profits of £1.51bn were down from £1.56bn in 2015. Read more: SSE sells stake in its Scottish wind [...]
Has the Competition and Markets Authority missed a golden opportunity to overhaul the banking sector? May 18, 2016 Rishi Khosla, chief executive and co-founder of OakNorth, says Yes. While the CMA’s proposals will make it easier for individuals and businesses to compare and switch current accounts, and should help improve awareness and shopping around in the market, SMEs have once again been overlooked. The CMA has simply passed the buck to the Treasury, which [...]
CMA: UK banks must cap overdraft fees, adopt better technology to make switching easier May 17, 2016 Banks will have a maximum monthly charge they can impose on customers for using unarranged overdrafts, and be forced to give greater warnings to people who are about to go into the red to give them time to avoid charges, under new proposals put forward today. The Competition and Markets Authority, which has been carrying [...]