UK commits £76m of dormant assets to tackle cost of living crisis March 7, 2023 The government has committed £76m of dormant assets to go towards tackling the cost of living crisis as it seeks to unlock over £800m for community funding over the next few years. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed today that an initial £76m will be distributed to 69,000 people under the Dormant [...]
Labour tells Jeremy Hunt to ‘get a move on’ with Solvency II reforms March 7, 2023 Labour has hit out at the government over delays to overhauling EU-era Solvency II rules demanding that it needs to “get a move on”. Shadow city minister Tulip Siddiq called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to reform the rules – which govern the sums of money insurers must hold on their balance sheets to protect themselves [...]
Bankers’ bonus cap was not working, UK banking regulator says March 7, 2023 The imposition of the bankers’ bonus cap has had “precisely the opposite effect” to what regulators intended, the head of the UK’s main banking regulator said today, as he sought to defend the government’s decision to scrap the cap. Sam Woods, head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said that while scrapping the bonus cap [...]
State pension: Government extends National Insurance top-up contribution deadline March 7, 2023 The government has confirmed the deadline for filling gaps in state pension National Insurance (NI) contribution records will be extended from 5 April 2023 to 31 July this year The April deadline applied to back payments from 2006, but concerns had been raised people were struggling to get through to jammed HMRC phonelines. The update [...]
Just Group profits on pensions buyout boom as rising interest rates drive record deals March 7, 2023 Just Group today said the boom in pensions buyout deals had helped boost its underlying profits by 19 per cent. The Surrey firm completed 56 pensions de-risking deals, worth £2.6bn, successfully profiting on the pension’s buyout boom. Higher interest rates over the previous year have improved pension scheme funding levels, in a shift that has [...]
Sniffy frustrations at Solvency II reforms betray Bank’s out-of-touch approach March 6, 2023 Regulation is a risky business – pun intended. Reducing the possibility of something going completely Pete Tong is at the heart of the work of all of the City’s rulemakers, but it should not be the be-all and end-all. It is this trap into which the Bank of England and its Prudential Regulation Authority appear [...]
Starbucks faces pressure from German giant Allianz to overhaul approach to unions March 6, 2023 Starbucks today faced mounting pressure over its approach towards unions after German financial services giant Allianz vowed to back a push to force the coffee seller to overhaul its labour policies. Allianz GI today vowed to support an investor resolution calling on Starbucks to overhaul its approach to workers’ unions, following concerns about the coffee [...]
Could A 4 Day Work Week Be Coming To Your Workplace? March 6, 2023 Four day work weeks have long been hailed as the future of work. But are we ready for such a monumental change in our working patterns and schedules? Earlier this month, 4 Day Week Global released its 2023 report, the contents of which have created quite a bit of debate across the fintech industries. The [...]
UK’s post-Brexit Solvency II reforms will increase risk of insurers collapsing… by just 0.1 percentage points March 6, 2023 The Bank of England today warned the UK’s planned Solvency II reforms could increase the risk of insurers collapsing… by just 0.1 percentage points. In a letter published today, the BoE’s governor Andrew Bailey said the UK government’s plan to overhaul the EU’s rules will increase the risk of life insurers collapsing by 20 per [...]
M&G set to be quizzed on takeover as Square Mile rumours swirl March 5, 2023 Bosses at asset management and insurance giant M&G are set to be quizzed by investors over a potential takeover swoop from Australian financial services Macquarie this week, as the firm updates the City with its full year results on Thursday. The update will mark chief executive Andrea Rossi’s first update at the helm of the [...]