Financial Conduct Authority probes home and motor insurance prices October 31, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today launched a probe into pricing practices in the insurance market. The regulator is concerned about potential consumer harm, particularly the impact of industry pricing practices on vulnerable people, where some groups of people face far higher prices than other groups. It will also examine the fairness of pricing and [...]
Fintechs can now apply for Financial Conduct Authority approval for accessing data from top banks as Open Banking moves a step closer October 12, 2017 Fintech startups are a step closer to getting their hands on customer data from some of the biggest high street banks in another move towards Open Banking. Firms wanting to take advantage of account information being made available under rules outlined by the competition authority last year can apply to the Financial Conduct Authority from [...]
Snap’s IPO to be probed by US authorities over weakened share price November 14, 2018 The initial public offering (IPO) of social media giant Snap is to be probed by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following on ongoing lawsuit against the firm. Snap confirmed it had responded to requests for information from the two US authorities in a statement this morning, after the [...]
Esure and Direct Line founder Sir Peter Wood to flog chunk of Gocompare stock to pursue property investment interests October 18, 2017 Sir Peter Wood, the insurance tycoon founder of Direct Line and Esure, today revealed plans to dump a multi-million slug of Gocompare shares on the market in order to fund his London and US property interests. In an after-market announcement, Wood said he will place 21.3m shares on the market. With Gocompare’s stock trading at [...]
Three themes for 2019 – and some black swans February 8, 2019 2018 was a challenging year for investors with US equity and government bond markets both returning less than cash. Two factors were instrumental in delivering this outcome: disappointment with global growth and less cash flowing through the global economy (tighter liquidity). These factors will continue to influence markets in the year ahead. We have identified [...]
The City is the goose that lays the golden eggs December 3, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority has taken its boldest step yet into the debate about banks' Brexit contingency plans. In a letter to lenders the City watchdog warned that it will not accept “steps being taken which could expose clients or markets to unacceptable risks.” Specifically, the FCA warns that they will intervene if they suspect [...]
City watchdog boss rejects calls for financial services deregulation post-Brexit October 2, 2018 The chair of the Financial Conduct Authority today said that the City regulator will not engage in a “race to the bottom” after Brexit in a bid to preserve the UK’s position among global financial centres. Charles Randell said calls for deregulation from some quarters of the financial sector show that “some memories are beginning [...]
Frank Field slams financial regulator over delay to pension advice fee decision October 4, 2018 Influential MP Frank Field has slammed the financial regulator for delaying a decision on whether to ban a model of charging for pensions advice which is believed to have driven mis-selling to thousands of retirees. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it sought views on whether to ban contingent charging – where a pension adviser [...]
Open Banking: Here’s what fintech startups think of delays after HSBC, Barclays and more given deadline extension from CMA December 20, 2017 Entrepreneurs at fintech startups have been left little surprised after more than half of the UK’s banks revealed they would miss a deadline for Open Banking – but how they implement it is of more concern. Nine banks have been forced to make their data open to third parties – many of them fintech startups [...]
Leaked information on M&A deals leads to higher valuations February 26, 2019 Leaking information on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals before any public announcement of the transaction added an extra US$21m to the average value of deals announced in 2016 that leaked, according to new research from Intralinks and Cass Business School. In addition to evidence of higher valuations for M&A deals that leak, the 2017 Intralinks [...]