Over half of financial services professionals claim ‘greenwashing’ is rife in the industry, study says May 25, 2021 More than half of financial services professionals believe ‘greenwashing’ is rife within the industry, according to a study released today, as employees fear competitors intentionally inflate their sustainable practices. The study by data agency iResearch Services, which polled 550 decision-makers at financial institutions, also found that 38 per cent believe every business is operating ‘unethically’ [...]
FCA charges Ian Hudson with fraudulent trading and defrauding creditors May 20, 2021 City watchdog The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) just announced it has launched criminal proceedings against Ian James Hudson, following an investigation. The FCA said that Hudson appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in relation to three charges. This includes carrying on a business, namely Richmond Associates, with the intention to defraud creditors and carrying on regulated [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? May 19, 2021 Morning Wire‘s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email [email protected] to be featured. Ex Co-op CEO joins Boomin’s board Property site Boomin has bagged itself a retail veteran this week, who is set to join the board as a non-executive director at its next [...]
City regulator aims to shut down scam sites in first 24 hours online May 18, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is beefing up its monitoring of financial scams on the internet by making use of a “dragnet” approach to capture suspicious advertising in the first 24 hours it is online. The watchdog is also now updating its ‘warning list’ on a daily basis, which is designed to persuade consumers not [...]
Financial watchdog proposes stiffer ‘duty’ to beef up consumer protection May 14, 2021 The UK’s financial watchdog has tabled a proposal today for a stiffer “duty” on companies to protect consumers from scams and mis-selling. Mis-sold financial products, including endowment mortgages, pensions and payment protection insurance have plagued retail investors for decades. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the firms it regulates would need to follow the new [...]
City lobby pays off: New finserv compensation pot for consumers slashed by more than £200m May 13, 2021 The amount of money banks and other financial institutions will have to pay into an insurance pot to protect customers should one of them fail has been slashed from an earlier estimate, after they protested about the high levels. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) reduced the total levy by £206m from its January forecast. [...]
FCA proposes structure shake-up to tackle illiquid fund flaws May 7, 2021 Britain today put forward a new long-term asset fund structure to invest in illiquid assets, such as real estate and infrastructure, following a series of high-profile suspensions. Illiquid assets typically offer better long-term returns but come with higher risk. They can be difficult to value or sell in a crisis, making it hard to meet [...]
FCA CEO: ‘We will not target EU equivalence deal at any cost’ May 6, 2021 The City regulator’s new CEO has said it will not target an EU equivalence deal for Canada “at any cost”, although he admitted not securing a deal could see consumers offered reduced choice in some financial markets. In a speech delivered to the Association of Foreign Banks today, CEO Nikhil Rathi said [...]
FCA fines London boutique investment bank for failing to spot financial crime relating to cum-ex trading May 6, 2021 The City regulator has fined Sapien Capital £178,000 after it failed to carry out proper due diligence on a client likely participating in financial crime. Between 10 February and 10 November 2015, the boutique investment bank failed to have in place proper systems to find and mitigate the risk of being used to facilitate [...]
FCA nears payout deal over Park First’s £230m ‘illegal investment scheme’ May 4, 2021 The City regulator is in talks with the people behind an investment scheme which has left savers facing losses. The Financial Conduct Authority is reportedly in detailed talks with Toby Whittaker, who owns Park First, which the regulator has previously said was involved in an “illegal collective investment scheme”. A potential deal, which could be [...]