National insurance is a complicated relic: Axe it in three simple steps November 3, 2016 If we were designing a new tax system from scratch, would anyone seriously suggest running three slightly different income tax systems at the same time? The fact that the government does precisely this is a relic of the past that has no place in a modern tax system. The combination of charges – income tax, plus employer’s [...]
Facebook data and privacy rules sink Admiral’s insurtech plans November 2, 2016 Facebook has sunk plans by Admiral to offer a reduced car insurance premium based on users posts on the social network. It turns out the insurance firm has fallen foul of Facebook's terms of use, which stipulate that data from Facebook can't be used for assessing eligibility. That's exactly what Admiral wanted to do, using posts [...]
So Moneysupermarket? Comparison site is on track for a “record year” November 1, 2016 It looks like the men in hotpants are working for Moneysupermarket.com, whose chief executive said today it is on track for a "record year". The figures The company's main site, MoneySupermarket.com, reported revenues of £76m in the three months to the end of September, up 13 per cent on the same time last year. That was pushed up by a 12 per [...]
Saudi Arabia’s bonds have broken the record for an emerging market issue, but are they good value? October 25, 2016 With three huge sovereign bond debuts, this has been a bumper year for emerging market government debt issues. First came Argentina, with a record-breaking $16.5bn (£13.5bn) sale in April, followed the next month by a $9bn issue from Qatar – double the amount it had originally planned for. Both were overawed last week, however, when [...]
Credit Suisse and Italian authorities agree to settle after offshore transfer investigation October 21, 2016 Credit Suisse has paid €110m (£98m) to settle allegations by Italian prosecutors that it helped clients divert undisclosed funds to offshore bank accounts. Italian authorities believed that the Swiss bank had helped some 13,000 clients transfer up to €14bn abroad using certain insurance products. An investigation has been running since 2014 and under Italian law today's settlement does not constitute an [...]
The UK’s biggest banks are bracing themselves for another £2bn on their PPI bill October 18, 2016 Britain's largest banks are set to add billions to their collective bill for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling in the next two weeks. According to Sky News, executives at Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Barclays are in the process of finalising top-up provisions, amounting to around £2bn in total – due to be [...]
City Moves for 13 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 13, 2016 GLAS GLAS, the leading independent provider of finance administration services, has appointed Joe Knight to spearhead the expansion of the firm’s direct lending platform. Joe will have responsibility for business development and developing strategic relationships with GLAS’ existing direct lending client base. The move comes as funds increasingly replace banks in the lower to middle [...]
FCA complaints are still dominated by PPI mis-selling October 6, 2016 The number of complaints lodged against financial services firms nudged down in the first six months of 2016 according to statistics released by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The total number of complaints dropped by 2.6 per cent compared with the final six months of 2015. Barclays topped the list and received over a quarter of a million objections. Top five [...]
“Forces in the market want to weaken us”: John Cryan seeks to reassure Deutsche Bank staff September 30, 2016 Deutsche Bank shares edged back over the €10 mark in mid-morning trading after chief executive sought to reassure staff in a company-wide memo. In the document, Cryan suggested the bank was strong and hit out at "speculators" for causing wild swings in the company's share price. "Our bank has become the object of heavy speculation – renewed rumours [...]
The great Deutsche Bank sale begins as bailout rumours continue to swirl September 28, 2016 Deutsche Bank sold one of its less core businesses today, prompting speculation that more asset sales are on the cards at the troubled German lender as it faces the prospect of a multi-billion pound US fine. The bank agreed to sell British insurance business Abbey Life to Phoenix, which will bring in nearly £1bn in capital. [...]