‘Carried away’: Kwasi Kwarteng admits Truss government ‘blew it’ over mini-budget December 10, 2022 Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has admitted that Liz Truss’s government “blew it” when it came to the economic reforms proposed in the mini-budget. “People got carried away, myself included,” he told the Financial Times. “There was a brief moment and the people in charge, myself included, blew it.” Kwarteng was ousted from government after he [...]
Post-Brexit reforms: Hunt aims to ‘turbocharge’ economy with biggest banking shake-up in 30 years December 9, 2022 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has unveiled plans to “turbocharge growth” with the biggest shake-up in banking reforms for three decades. His so-called Edinburgh reforms announced this morning seek to “seize the benefits of Brexit” by cutting EU red tape for the financial sector. The new measures build on the government’s Mansion House 2021 package, with a [...]
Hunt to unveil post-Brexit Big Bang 2.0 for UK financial services industry December 8, 2022 Jeremy Hunt will finally unveil the government’s plans to shred EU financial services laws today as he proposes a package to boost the City’s global competitiveness post-Brexit. Hunt will deliver the landmark announcement in Edinburgh this morning, with the chancellor set to drop Solvency II capital requirements on insurance firms and ease current bank ring-fencing [...]
Five ‘shameful’ firms fined hundreds of thousands of pounds for preying on older Brits December 7, 2022 Five “shameful” companies have been fined a total of £435,000 for targeting people over 60 with nearly half a million unlawful marketing calls. The firms were “deliberately targeting” those signed up with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) – a register for those who do not want to receive marketing calls – to sell insurance for [...]
Hunt to present changes to City rules in bid to make London more competitive December 7, 2022 Various media report this morning that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will later this week unveil a package of financial reforms to relax regulation in the City in a bid to make London more competitive. The measures are likely to include easing the ring-fencing rules on Britain’s biggest banks, which were imposed following the 2008 financial crisis, [...]
No regulatory ‘race to the bottom’ says Glen as City braces for rules reform December 6, 2022 A top Treasury minister said the government was not “deregulating for deregulation’s sake” today as the government tries to soothe concerns it will overzealously slash rules governing the financial sector.
Phoenix Group on track to meet financial goals after weathering economic storm December 6, 2022 London insurer Phoenix Group today said it is on track to generate £1.3bn- £1.4bn worth of cash this year due in part to it avoiding the UK’s LDI crisis. The insurer said its “comprehensive” hedging strategy had insulated it from the current downturn as Phoenix noted it does not participate in the Liability Driven Investment [...]
Exclusive: Average start-up loan shrinks to just £142k while volumes drop by half December 6, 2022 The average start-up loan has fallen over 138 percent in the past year to just over £142k, from £339k in 2021., according to new data shared exclusively with City A.M. today. Moreover, the number of startup loans has more than halved compared to 2019. The findings by Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance follow a recent British [...]
FTSE 100 lifted by China Covid-19 easing rumours December 5, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was bumped higher today as investors were buoyed by signs Beijing is reeling back its tough zero-Covid policy. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.15 per cent to 7,567.54 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dipped 0.17 per cent to [...]
Reports: UK set to unveil post-Brexit financial services reforms on Friday December 5, 2022 The UK is reportedly set to bring forward long awaited post-Brexit reforms to the UK’s financial services rulebook on Friday. Bloomberg reported this morning that the Treasury is now completing the final details of the package, with cabinet sign-off expected this week, and that an announcement is pencilled in for the end of the week. [...]