UK’s new housing minister vows to crack down on ‘immoral’ insurance deals September 22, 2022 The UK’s new housing minister has vowed to crack down on “immoral” practices in the insurance sector that “drive up prices for consumers,” after tower block leaseholders were hit with surging premiums in the wake of the Grenfell tower disaster. In a comment piece in The Telegraph, Housing secretary Simon Clarke said his department [...]
Link faces £50m fine over Woodford fund’s collapse September 21, 2022 The UK firm that managed Neil Woodford’s flagship investment fund is facing a £50m fine over its running of the fund before its collapse in 2019. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a draft warning notice against Link Fund Solutions Ltd (LFS) indicating it could be forced to pay £306m in costs and [...]
FCA warns millions of Brits who live in blocks of flats urgently need better protection September 21, 2022 Under a move by the City watchdog to improve how the buildings insurance market operates, the FCA said today that people living in blocks of flats could receive greater protections from high insurance costs. A cross-industry risk-sharing scheme could be set up to limit the risk to individual insurers posed by buildings affected by flammable [...]
Exclusive: Banks cleaning up their act as City sees steep drop in bullying and sexual harassment September 20, 2022 Banks, insurers and other financial services firms have come under pressure from the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in recent years to crack down on personal misconduct by individuals in regulated firms, and it seems these efforts are starting to pay off. Morning Wire can reveal this morning that London’s financial services space [...]
FCA: Crypto exchange FTX may be operating in UK without authorisation September 19, 2022 Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority said on Friday cryptocurrency exchange FTX may be offering financial services or products in the UK without its authorisation. FTX is one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, raising its profile this year by acting as crypto’s white knight, throwing lifelines to digital asset platforms which have faltered as cryptocurrency prices [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile? September 16, 2022 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email [email protected] to be featured. Bovill Financial regulation consultancy Bovill has appointed a Big Four director to head its wealth practice, covering financial planning, regulatory compliance and prudential obligations. Based in London, Matt Browne joins from PwC, where he was a director [...]
Wise investors ‘should be concerned’ by probe, top advisors warn September 15, 2022 Investors in troubled money-transfer firm Wise “should be concerned” by the regulatory investigation into its chief Kristo Kaarmann as it threatens to “dampen shareholder value”, a top advisory group has warned. The Financial Conduct Authority revealed in June it had opened an investigation into the Estonian founder after tax authorities ruled in 2021 that he [...]
UK’s financial sector faces new wave of brute force DDoS attacks September 14, 2022 The UK’s financial sector is experiencing a wave of brute force Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, new data obtained through a freedom of information request shows. Hackers are increasingly using brute force tactics to launch cyberattacks against the UK’s financial sector, as they pivot away from using phishing and malware scams, the Financial Conduct [...]
Bank scandal victims must be informed of compensation deadline, campaigners say September 11, 2022 The banks at the centre of a multi-billion-pound mis-selling scandal should be forced to inform their victims of an approaching deadline to receive compensation, the Transparency Task Force (TTF) has told MPs. Victims of the interest rate hedging product (IRHP) scandal should be informed they must file any complaints to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority [...]
Ministers press ahead with powers to intervene in financial rules September 8, 2022 Ministers have pressed ahead with plans to grant the government “call in” powers to intervene in financial regulation today, just one day after City watchdogs underlined the importance of regulatory independence to financial stability.