Loan sharks on the rise with 3m people turning to illegal lenders amid ‘credit vacuum’ June 28, 2023 Over 3m people have turned to illegal lenders in the past three years, demonstrating the size of the “credit vacuum” in the UK’s lending market. According to research conducted by IPSOS for pressure group Fair4All Finance, more and more struggling households are turning to illegal lenders sharks in the absence of regulated firms operating in [...]
Payments watchdog wants open banking to ‘inject more competition’ into card market June 27, 2023 The UK’s payments regulator today argued that the card market did not have “sufficient competition”, but suggested progress on open banking could open it up to a wave of innovation. Chris Hemsley, managing director of the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), said the watchdog was looking to find ways of “injecting more competition into this market [...]
Insolvency fears for UK firms recede despite four-year high in May, new research shows June 27, 2023 Fears of insolvency are receding among UK firms despite recent data showing liquidations hit a four-year high in May. According to new research from Evelyn Partners, 32 per cent of UK businesses believe there is a risk they will become insolvent in the next 12 months, down significantly on the 47 per cent of firms [...]
KPMG to cut five per cent of US jobs as demand slows June 26, 2023 Big four accountancy KPMG tonight announced a fresh round of layoffs, with plans to cut five per cent of its US workforce. In an internal message seen by Morning Wire, US chair and CEO Paul Knopp KPMG said: “We do not make the decision lightly. However, we believe it is in the best long-term interest [...]
Plan to tackle fraud makes UK ‘less attractive’ for investment, payments lobby group warns June 26, 2023 The UK’s payments industry is under threat from proposals designed to tackle fraud, the main payments body has warned. In a letter to Lord Dominic Johnson, minister of state for investment, the Payments Association – which represents over 300 payments firms – warned “some regulators regulate in a way that stifles the growth of our [...]
HSBC moving out of Canary Wharf headquarters in favour of Square Mile June 26, 2023 HSBC is set to leave its headquarters at Canary Wharf when its lease expires in 2027 and will move back to the heart of the City, Morning Wire understands. The bank has been based in 8 Canada Square for more than two decades, but hopes to downsize to Panorama St Paul’s, 81 Newgate Street. The [...]
‘At stake is the structure of finance itself’: City bankers raise concerns over potential impact of Britcoin June 26, 2023 City bankers have raised concerns about the possible consequences that introducing the digital pound, known as ‘Britcoin’, could have on the country’s banking sector. “At stake is not just the type of token we use to pay for things but the structure of finance itself,” Huw van Steenis, vice chair at Oliver Wyman, told City [...]
European resolution authority calls for greater ‘firepower’ as watchdogs around the world consider reform June 25, 2023 An influential European banking regulator has called for more powers to help it address risks in the system revealed after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse earlier this year. Speaking to the Financial Times, Dominique Laboureix, chair of the European Union’s Single Resolution Board (SRB), said European authorities needed to return [...]
Labour: Force banks to pass on interest rate hikes to savings accounts June 25, 2023 Labour has called on the government to ensure that banks are passing on higher interest rates to savers in an attempt to cool inflation. Speaking on the Sophy Ridge show on Sky News, Lisa Nandy said: “What we are proposing is that the Government ensures that those (interest rate) rises are passed on so that [...]
PwC Australia: Firm appoints new CEO as tax leak scandal roars on June 25, 2023 PwC’s Australian business is set to offload a government services division that has dragged the firm into weeks of lurid front-page headlines. The down under branch of the consulting firm is selling its public sector advisory business to a private equity firm Allegro for $1, and bringing in a new CEO of the overall business [...]