US President Barack Obama is proposing a major reform of banking regulation in order to prevent future meltdowns of the US banking system. Mr Obama described the reforms as biggest overhaul of the system since the 1930s, which will see major banks put more money aside against future losses to prevent excessive risk taking. The [...]
Despite Poland previously stating that it did not need help, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced it is in the process of considering loaning $20 billion (£13.44 billion) after weeks of speculation. According to the IMF’s managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF board is considering a one-year flexible credit line arrangement after Poland’s Prime [...]
There are finally signs that bank lending to companies and households will increase which will play a crucial part in the recovery from the recession, after a survey from the Bank of England revealed that credit conditions are improving. The quarterly survey on credit conditions now shows that lenders expect availability of credit to both [...]
The G20 leaders have come to an agreement to toughen up regulations within the financial markets today and have agreed to blacklist tax havens. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will be in charge of publishing this and within the documentation a scale of white, grey and black list havens. This will be [...]
Stockmarkets throughout the world have risen today as leaders of the world’s largest economies gather in London for the G20 summit. London‘s FTSE 100 index broke through the 4000 mark gaining 135 points to 4090.65 points this morning. However, the gains could also be attributed to the announcement from the Nationwide today, which revealed a [...]
DeAnne Julius, chairman of think tank Chatham House, has warned that the world could face five years of economic slowdown and a 10% decline in output. Addressing a G20 breakfast seminar organised by BBC News, Mrs Julius, who was previously a Monetary Policy Committee member of the Bank of England, said there was a 40% [...]
Just a few days before the G20 summit in London, China has placed even more pressure on world leaders to amend the global financial system. China has not been as affected as most of the other G20 nations but the country is pushing hard for changes due to a loss of confidence in the current [...]
The leaders of the world’s 20 major economies have met to discuss the global financial crisis. The G20 summit, which took place in Washington, saw the biggest gathering of presidents and prime ministers in nearly 10 years and brings together representatives of around 85% of the world’s economy. With the eurozone in recession, unemployment in [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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