PwC offers muted support for audit market caps and increased oversight November 15, 2018 Britain’s biggest auditor has offered equivocal backing to a range of sector reforms, including a cap on market share for firms and more independent oversight of audit appointments. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the largest of Britain’s Big Four auditors, told the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) a limit on the number of top firms any single auditor [...]
SSE share price up as it starts early talks with the CMA over its merger with Npower January 31, 2018 SSE has revealed it is in early talks with the competitions watchdog over its plan to merge and spin off its household energy supply and services businesses with German-owned Npower. The firm, Britain’s second-largest energy supplier, announced late last year that it planned to create an independent supplier with Germany’s Innogy. SSE said it has [...]
We don’t need to break up big tech to make a better internet – we just need more competition March 19, 2019 Last week saw the release of the government-commissioned Furman Review into digital competition. The commission, chaired by former Obama administration chief economic adviser Jason Furman, found that Google, Amazon, and Facebook don’t face enough competition. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the recent attention on tech giants’ business models by governments across the world. [...]
Metro Bank tops customer service survey as challenger bank grows in popularity February 15, 2019 Metro Bank has topped an industry-wide customer service survey despite battling an accounting error, which has hit shares in recent weeks. The challenger bank knocked First Direct off the top spot in a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) survey based on whether customers at the UK’s 16 largest current account providers would recommend their bank to friends [...]
Mercer slams competition watchdog for data errors in pension fund industry investigation September 25, 2018 A leading player in the pension fund industry has slammed the competition watchdog for using inaccurate data in its probe into the sector. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report released in July found that there was a lack of competition in the investment consultancy which could cause "material customer detriment". The UK chief [...]
Morrisons and Tesco flag concerns over Sainsbury’s-Asda merger December 4, 2018 Morrisons and Tesco have added their voice to the growing chorus of retailers which have spoken out against the proposed £12bn merger between Asda and Sainsbury’s. Both grocers have this week brought into question Sainsbury’s planned takeover of rival Asda, which would see Britain’s second and third largest supermarkets overtake Tesco to the top spot. [...]
Five UK banks given Open Banking deadline extension by CMA December 19, 2017 Five UK banks have been given more time by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to comply with Open Banking regulations. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC, Santander and Bank of Ireland appealed to the CMA for a delay to the January deadline. Open Banking is a new digital standard that aims to give [...]
Sainsbury’s-Asda merger will impact competition in 463 local areas, competition watchdog warns September 27, 2018 The UK competition authority today warned the mega merger between Asda and Sainsbury's could Seriously lessen competition in 463 local areas across the country. To solve the issue, the new business may have to sell off hundreds of the overlapping stores. Last week, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its concerns around the merger were [...]
Competition watchdog applies further scrutiny to Sainsbury’s-Asda merger September 19, 2018 Sainsbury’s and Asda’s proposed merger will receive further scrutiny after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said concerns over the deal merit deeper investigation. The watchdog warned that the two supermarkets “overlap in hundreds of local areas”, meaning shoppers could face higher prices or worse service if the two were to merge, after its phase [...]
Competition watchdog applies further scrutiny to Sainsbury’s-Asda merger September 19, 2018 Sainsbury’s and Asda’s proposed merger will receive further scrutiny after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said concerns over the deal merit deeper investigation. The watchdog warned that the two supermarkets “overlap in hundreds of local areas”, meaning shoppers could face higher prices or worse service if the two were to merge, after its phase [...]