FCA to scrutinise how firms handle PPI complaints process January 30, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has its sights set on a new target – the handling of complaints on payment protection insurance (PPI). The City regulator will investigate whether banks are taking the necessary measures to secure “appropriate protection for consumers” and will reveal its findings in the summer. In August last [...]
Top FCA watchdog Martin Wheatley: I regret saying we must shoot first and ask questions later January 27, 2015 The City watchdog’s boss admitted yesterday that his “shoot first, ask questions later” description of the Financial Conduct Authority was too aggressive, and that the body is trying to find a better balance with businesses. Martin Wheatley told MPs that he had been trying to establish the FCA’s reputation in 2012 and to tell firms [...]
FCA boss Martin Wheatley is right to say sorry at last – Editor’s Letter January 27, 2015 Martin Wheatley evokes a lot of hostility, rather than respect, from many of the senior figures in the London’s financial community. A few months ago one chief executive pulled me aside and blamed the City’s top regulator for costing London the flotation of Alibaba, the giant Chinese internet group. Wheatley’s crime, I was told, was [...]
The City’s King of Mining Ian Hannam is back on top after £450,000 FCA fine January 27, 2015 When you are called “The King of Mining”, you know you have risen pretty high – and, in dramatic terms at least, there is only one way you can go. Ian Hannam fell very far, very suddenly. The dealmaking guru at JP Morgan quit his job almost three years ago to fight claims of insider [...]
Who made the FCA’s 2014 naughty list: Which institutions received the biggest fines last year? January 6, 2015 2014 was a busy year for the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which brought in a record £1,471,431,800 in fines – more than twice the previous record year. However, £1.1 billion of the FCA’s naughty list was made up by just five banks, and these record fines have sparked fears of conduct [...]
Departing FCA regulator Clive Adamson admits: We perhaps went too far December 16, 2014 Departing City watchdog Clive Adamson yesterday told MPs that a botched media leak from earlier this year was the “most serious incident” the regulator has ever faced. Adamson, who is to step down as director of supervision at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in January, was answering questions at the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) about the [...]
Wonga cuts interest rates and fees as FCA clamps down December 16, 2014 Wonga is capping interest rates on its loans at 0.8 per cent per day and is limiting the amount of debt its borrowers can rack up, the troubled payday lender announced yesterday. The move comes in response to new rules from City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Its crackdown on the sector is expected to [...]
Watchdogs with City past wanted: FCA fines top £1.47bn as experience of executives called into question December 15, 2014 The City watchdog has issued over £1.47bn worth of fines to financial services firms so far this year, while issuing over 100 disciplinary measures such as bans. But, its critics say, it has done all this with an organisation that is lacking in commercial experience on its executive committee, its most senior board of full-time [...]
Blackrock’s Jonathan Burrows: The FCA has “more profound wrongdoing than mine” to investigate December 15, 2014 Former Blackrock managing director Jonathan Burrows – who was today banned from working in the regulated financial industry – has said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has "more profound wrongdoing than mine" to deal with. Burrows was unmasked this summer as the serial train fare dodger whose actions cost him a £43,000 settlement and [...]
Fare-dodging former Blackrock managing director Jonathan Burrows banned by FCA December 15, 2014 Blackrock managing director and serial train fare-dodger Jonathan Burrows has been banned from performing “any function in relation to any regulated activities” by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The City watchdog said Burrows, who hit the news this summer when he was revealed as the executive who racked up £43,000 in unpaid train fares [...]