HSBC chairman wants delay to ringfence rules August 3, 2014 BRITAIN’S biggest banks could face two expensive shake-ups instead of one, the head of HSBC has warned, because the new competition probe is taking place at the same time as banks divide themselves up with the incoming ringfence. HSBC chairman Douglas Flint has written to chancellor George Osborne, asking him to push back the introduction [...]
Ofgem and big six energy suppliers spar over profit July 30, 2014 A fight between the big six energy suppliers and regulator Ofgem kicked off yesterday, due to a wide disparity between their estimates of company profits. Ofgem will today predict that firms will make £106 per household, up from the £101 it forecast a month ago. But the industry argues that their estimates have been wildly [...]
SSE and UK Power Networks to pay £3.3m for winter power cuts July 24, 2014 ENERGY network operators SSE and UK Power Networks (UKPN) are set to pay out an extra £3.3m for power cuts during the storms last winter. SSE’s distribution arm and UKPN, which deliver energy to people’s homes across the south of England, have already paid out £4.7m, after they were found to have been the slowest [...]
Parcel woes hit shares in Royal Mail before AGM July 22, 2014 AN UNEXPECTED drop in Royal Mail parcel revenues announced yesterday is likely to build more pressure on the company ahead of its annual general meeting tomorrow. Royal Mail saw a one per cent decline in parcel revenues in the first three months of the financial year to 29 June, and it expected full-year parcel revenues [...]
Lazy small firms blamed for bad banking market July 21, 2014 BRITAIN’S small firms have to try harder to push their banks to work for them, and be prepared to walk away if they do not, Britain’s competition chief said yesterday. Banks have been hit by waves of complaints from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) even since before the financial crisis. But only a tiny proportion [...]
Why free bank accounts will have to go to spur competition in banking July 21, 2014 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is consulting on its provisional decision to launch a formal investigation into UK banks. In other words, the CMA wants to increase competition in banking to better meet the needs of consumers. And alongside other issues, it is concerned that the Big Four banks have a 77 per cent [...]
UK banks to face “in-depth” competition inquiry that could see major lenders broken up July 18, 2014 The UK's banking sector is set to face a fresh competition inquiry that could lead to sweeping changes across the industry with British lenders at risk of being broken up. As expected, in an initial into the industry published this morning, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided that there should be an "in-depth" [...]
UK banks RBS and Lloyds could be broken up in competition probe July 17, 2014 A major new competition probe could result in the further break-up of leading high street banks, analysts warned yesterday, with RBS and Lloyds most vulnerable to the demands of regulators. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today unveils the results of its study of the small business banking market and the current accounts sector. [...]
Don’t politicise takeovers, Vince Cable – you risk putting bidders off Britain July 17, 2014 "I do not want protectionist legislation, but we do need a last resolute national defence,” said business secretary Vince Cable in City A.M. this week. Unfortunately, there is a risk that Cable’s proposals to toughen up the rules governing takeovers could have adverse consequences unless they are refined. Contrary to some of the wilder speculation, [...]
Royal Mail may face fine as French antitrust investigation gets underway July 16, 2014 Royal Mail yesterday announced it might face a significant fine, as its European parcel delivery subsidiary General Logistics Systems (GLS) is being targeted by the French competition authority as part of a widespread antitrust investigation. Other parcel delivery companies, including FedEx, TNT Express, Deutsche Post’s DHL Express France SAS service and La Poste’s Exapaq and [...]