Salary sacrifice schemes hit in Hammond’s first Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 Employee salary sacrifice schemes such as gym memberships will no longer be tax-free, the chancellor said today. Philip Hammond said in his Autumn Statement that certain benefits employees enjoy tax-free at the moment will no longer be exempt. The Treasury said that the tax and employer National Insurance advantages of salary sacrifice schemes will be [...]
Insurance premium tax rises to 12 per cent from next June. And it will be consumers that are hit worst, say insurers November 23, 2016 The rate of insurance premium tax will rise from 10 per cent to 12 per cent from next June, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the Autumn Statement. The rise will be the third hike since last November 2015 and means insurance premium tax will have doubled from six per cent to 12 per cent in just [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: Corporation tax will fall to 17 per cent, Philip Hammond confirms November 23, 2016 Corporation tax will fall to 17 per cent by 2020, Philip Hammond has confirmed. Hammond said in his Autumn Statement that corporation tax would follow the road map set out in the March Budget by his predecessor George Osborne. A reduced corporation tax will be of benefit for companies as they face uncertainty relating to [...]
Boost for UK exporters as chancellor announces doubling of UK Export Finance capacity November 23, 2016 Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced plans to make it easier for British firms to export. Hammond said in his Autumn Statement that he would be doubling the capacity of UK Export Finance. Read more: Live coverage: Autumn Statement 2016 UK Export Finance is Britain's export credit agency and a government department which works alongside the Department for [...]
Big data should be used to discriminate on motor insurance premiums, says FCA chief executive November 22, 2016 Insurers should use big data to identify and reward good drivers, according to the head of the UK's financial watchdog. Speaking today at the Association of British Insurers' (ABI) annual conference, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) boss Andrew Bailey said the "revolution in our ability to capture and use information" should be encouraged by regulators in certain [...]
Charles Taylor snaps up two of Zurich’s life books but its shares plummet November 22, 2016 Shares in Charles Taylor fell over 13 per cent today after its purchase of two of Zurich's £323m life assurance businesses failed to impress investors. Announcing the acquisition today, the insurance services provider said the purchases – of Zurich International Life Limited and Allied Dunbar International Fund Managers Limited – were part of its strategy to make "tactical [...]
Britain’s insurers pay-out huge numbers to settle claims November 22, 2016 Britain's insurers are writing cheques for a whopping £131m a day according to one of the sector's main industry bodies. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) revealed the news today and while a large proportion of pay-outs are related to long-term savings and pensions, paying out for motoring claims represent a hefty chunk of what insurers must fork-out. Read [...]
Goldman Sachs and Santander have left a major blockchain group November 22, 2016 Goldman Sachs and Santander have both exited one of tech's top blockchain consortiums which is backed by some of the world's biggest financial institutions. Both institutions have quit membership of the R3 group and will not be investing in its latest reported funding round. Santander did not comment on its decision to depart R3, however, it's understood it will [...]
Legal & General in advanced talks to sell Dutch operations to Chesnara November 21, 2016 Legal & General (L&G) is in advanced talks to sell its Dutch arm to Chesnara, with an announcement of the sale expected later this week. According to Sky News, Chesnara, the London-listed owner of Countrywide Assured, is in talks to buy the overseas unit of L&G and is expected to pay around £130m for the Dutch [...]
Citi and JP Morgan top regulators’ list of systemically important banks, as HSBC and Barclays move to lower tier November 21, 2016 Citigroup has joined JP Morgan Chase as one of the world's top two "systemically important banks", according to an updated list published today by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Banks in the top tier will have to hold 2.5 per cent of their assets as buffer capital in case of another crisis. This means that US [...]