Watchdog bans City of London trader for ‘wash trading’ March 4, 2021 The city watchdog has banned ex-City of London trader Adrian Geoffrey Horn after he engaged in ‘wash trading’, a form of market abuse. Horn, who worked as a market making trader at Cheapside-based Stifel Nicolaus Europe, was fined £52,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and banned for carrying out any regulated work in the [...]
Deloitte to pay Malaysia $80m for role in 1MDB corruption scandal March 3, 2021 Audit giant Deloitte is set to pay $80m to the Malaysian government to settle claims of corruption tied to the auditing of scandal-linked state accounts, the finance ministry has said today. Deloitte’s fee will conclude its role in the corruption saga that involved former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak who allegedly used the state fund [...]
KPMG ‘to sell’ restructuring arm in £400m deal March 2, 2021 Big four accountancy firm KPMG is set to announce the sale of its UK restructuring arm in a deal worth £400m, according to reports, as the company braces for sweeping new audit reforms. The division, which will be renamed Interpath Advisory, will automatically become the largest restructuring firm in the UK by employee count, Sky [...]
FCA calls for social media giants to be held accountable for fraudsters on their platforms in wake of LCF scandal March 1, 2021 Social media companies should be punished when fraudsters use their platforms to advertise scams as a part of new online harms legislation, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) chief executive. Nikhil Rathi told MPs today that social media platforms were becoming “one big vector” for fraudsters and that firms like Twitter and Facebook should [...]
FCA failed to act for two years on Woodford concerns March 1, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority was made aware of concerns with Neil Woodford’s now collapsed investment business but failed to act for almost two years. The disgraced former stock picker was forced to suspend his flagship fund in June 2019 sparking a scandal that rocked the investment industry. Concerns over the strategy were raised in 2015, [...]
Ex-FCA chief Woolard nabs leadership role at EY February 11, 2021 Chris Woolard, the former interim chief executive at city regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has nabbed a leadership role at EY. Woolard will join the Big Four firm in April to lead its EMEIA financial services regulatory capabilities, and chair the EY Global Financial Services Regulatory Network. He will replace John Liver, who currently [...]
BoE boss Andrew Bailey denies responsibility for London Capital & Finance collapse February 9, 2021 Bank of England boss Andrew Bailey has hit out at allegations that he was not quick enough to reform the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) before the collapse of London Capital & Finance (LCF). Bailey, who was chief executive of the FCA when the mini-bond firm collapsed in 2019, said the regulator had been a “broken [...]
Woolard review: FCA cracks down on £2.7bn buy-now-pay-later market February 2, 2021 Interest-free buy-now-pay-later credit agreements will be regulated by the City watchdog after the market swelled to £2.7bn last year. The plans, drawn up by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), have been designed to protect consumers, after the use of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) transactions tripled in 2020, as shoppers looked for ways to spread their money further [...]
Regulation must deliver transparency and protection for BNPL consumers February 2, 2021 In 2020 UK consumers reduced their collective credit card bill by £10bn, the largest annual reduction since records began. At the same time debit card usage increased sharply as consumers, locked down at home, adopted online shopping in huge numbers. The shift to debit cards has been happening for many years across countries. Millennials, in [...]
Report calls on Government and FCA to ‘consider consequences’ for BoE boss Andrew Bailey over LCF collapse February 1, 2021 The Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must consider what action to take against Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and two officials over their handling of LCF, the author of a report about the collapsed fund told MPs today.