The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) final report has been published today and is recommending that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations. According to the report, ring-fencing would protect banks from riskier investment banking divisions and would “make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble”. The ICB, which [...]
HSBC, which is Europe’s largest bank, has once again denied rumours that it is planning to relocate its UK headquarters to Hong Kong. A report in the Sunday Telegraph quoted an unnamed, investor as saying “we were told that a move [to Hong Kong] is now more than likely”. However, the bank has refuted the [...]
Chancellor George Osborne has had a rethink with regard to bankers’ bonuses, suggesting he may abandon the requirement for British banks to disclose the number of employees earning more than £1 million. The requirement for banks to disclose bonuses and salary payments over £1 million was brought in by former Chancellor Alistair Darling last year. [...]
Banking giant HSBC has today said third-quarter profits were well ahead of the same period a year ago with bad debts on the decline. The bank did not provide exact figures in today’s statement but did caution that the global recovery was “taking longer than previous cycles”. The bank, which is Europe’s largest, also expressed [...]
Mervyn King, the Bank of England’s Governor, has expressed his support for breaking up banks – measures that would shake-up the UK’s banking industry. Mr King’s comments come shortly after the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) said it was looking at ways to increase competition and choice among high street banks. One option could see [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) is warning that new measures proposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) could result in the demise of the interest-only mortgage. The FSA is currently consulting with lenders and other interested parties on the future regulation of the UK mortgage market, and the CML claims that interest-only home loans [...]
Gross mortgage lending totalled an estimated £11.3 billion in May, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported. The figure is up 7% from £10.5 billion in April, and 10% from £10.2 billion a year earlier. While the mortgage market is more buoyant than a year ago, it remains “subdued”, according to the CML, with [...]
European Union proposals to tighten regulation on credit rating agencies (CRAs) have been praised by a financial expert. Martin Bamford, chartered financial planner at Informed Choice, welcomed the EU Commission’s plans to better regulate CRAs. “The opinions of CRAs can have a big impact on markets and economies, so better regulation of these bodies is [...]
Michel Barnier, the European Internal Markets Commissioner, has pledged to investigate credit rating agencies after a series of downgrades to Greece’s debt. Mr Barnier told the European Parliament he had been surprised by the rapid deterioration of Greece’s rating. Last week, Greece became the first euro zone nation to have its debt downgraded to “junk” [...]
New government legislation on credit card debt does not go nearly far enough, the director of a financial management charity has claimed. Chris Tapp, director of Credit Action, said new laws that stop credit card providers increasing interest rates and limits on credit cards are merely “a baby step in the right direction”. Prime Minister [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is recommending a “shake-up” of the way in which most Britons sell their homes, including new legislation that encourages innovation in the estate agency market. Following a study of the home-buying and selling process, the watchdog concludes: “The housing market remains dominated by traditional estate agents with weak competition [...]
Lenders are backing the proposed regulation of the second-charge mortgage market. Responding to a Treasury consultation, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has also said it wants to ensure borrowers are sufficiently protected when mortgage books are sold on. On second-charge lending, the body has restated its longstanding position that all residential mortgage lending should [...]
The Church of England has spoken out in support of hedge funds and has expressed concern that EU proposals to tighten hedge fund regulation could damage its investments. The Church Commissioners, who manage the Church’s £4.4 billion assets, said the European Union directive would limit their ability to make money for the Church. In a [...]
An organisation set up to represent property owners and investors, is calling for the regulation of buy-to-let mortgages. In a new report entitled “Responsible Regulation”, the British Property Federation (BPF) says such a move would lessen the risk of another “black hole of irresponsible lending” occurring in the future. According to the BPF, the Financial [...]
The Chancellor Alistair Darling has today announced key reforms of banking regulation in a bid to prevent future meltdowns. The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s has forced the Government to nationalise Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, as well as bailing out Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland using [...]
Proposals from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on future regulation of the UK banking sector include the possibility of a cap on mortgages, in terms of their loan-to-value (LTV) or loan-to-income ratios. The woes of the recession are linked to a decade of house price inflation fuelled by irresponsible lending by banks and others and [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has been airing its views on the type of regulation needed to avert another banking crisis. According to a BBC report, FSA chairman Lord Turner wants UK banks to adopt a more sober approach to lending during boom years and use periods of strong economic growth to build up their [...]
Estate agents that have so far survived the housing market downturn can look forward to a review of the market by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), in 2009. The watchdog has promised to take a comprehensive look at the sector and will be involving both consumer groups and industry bodies. In a similar study [...]
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has warned the UK’s mortgage providers that they must put their house in order over arrangement fees. The average fee paid is now over £800, up from £441 in 2005. Charges of around £1,000 are commonplace for a fixed-rate loan and some products, which carry arrangement fees based on [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
