Axa rejects claim FCA’s Consumer Duty could hurt City’s finance sector March 22, 2023 The head of Axa’s UK & Ireland division has pushed back against claims the Financial Conduct Authority’s new Consumer Duty could hinder the City’s competitiveness. Claudio Gienal, chief executive of AXA UK and Ireland, told City A.M. he “supports” the FCA’s new customer-focused mandate. Gienal also said he doesn’t “see an issue with competitiveness” around [...]
Exclusive: Renters face being pushed out of London as landlords struggle to cope with ‘huge’ mortgage hikes, adviser warns March 20, 2023 Landlords in London and the south east are facing a 125 per cent increase in monthly mortgage payments, or £574 on average, according to research exclusively shared with City A.M. The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates 11 times over the last 15 months has seen mortgage costs spiral for mortgage borrowers. Earlier [...]
Rules protecting consumers will mean fewer mortgage applications, finance leader warns March 10, 2023 A new consumer duty placed on financial firms could lead to lenders being more cautious and fewer people able to access a mortgage, the chief executive of trade association UK Finance has told an industry gathering. David Postings told UK Finance’s annual mortgage lunch in London that the measure is a “well-meaning idea”. He said: [...]
Londoners most at risk of being among the 350,000 UK borrowers who will struggle to repay their mortgage, regulator warns March 10, 2023 An extra 356,000 mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by the end of June 2024, in addition to those who are already behind, according to the City regulator. This has been reduced from a previous estimate made last September that an additional 570,000 mortgage borrowers could become financially stretched by the end of June 2024, [...]
UK trade data market not working ‘as it should’ as investors pay the cost of lack of competition, says FCA March 2, 2023 A new study from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found competition in the wholesale data market is “not working as well as it should”, leading to extra costs for investors and savers. Trading data includes information on the prices and volumes of financial products traded and supplied by venues such as stock exchanges. The [...]
FCA warns firms to act now or risk falling foul of incoming consumer duty regime February 22, 2023 Firms must act now to prepare for a new consumer duty, a boss at the City regulator has said. Sheldon Mills, executive director of competition and consumers at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told firms: “You still have time to deliver. But you must act now.” Speaking at an online event hosted by Deloitte marking [...]
FCA warns crypto execs could face two years in jail for breaching financial promotion rules February 6, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned crypto businesses that breaching new financial promotion regulations could lead to executives facing up to two years in prison. The FCA said that crypto companies which fail to meet its financial promotion rules will breach the Financial Services and Markets Act, “a criminal offence punishable by up to [...]
UK shouldn’t start a ‘regulatory race to the bottom’ to lure Arm into London float, top City group warns February 5, 2023 A top City lobby group has hit out at the UK’s financial watchdog over claims it is planning to bend its own rules to persuade microchip designer Arm to float on the London Stock Exchange. The Institute of Directors (IoD) warned the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) offer to waive market rules “undermines the integrity of both [...]
Scam warning: FCA removes over 5,800 misleading ads and warns consumers to be on their guard February 3, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it has ramped up efforts to protect consumers from misleading financial promotions, according to a report published today. The UK’s leading financial watchdog required firms to amend or remove a staggering 8,582 promotions during 2022, compared to just 573 in the previous year. It also posted more than 1,800 [...]
FCA’s new sustainability rules to establish UK as world leader on anti-greenwashing January 25, 2023 Industry figures today claimed the UK was set to become a global leader in the fight against so-called greenwashing after the conclusion of a consultation by the financial regulator. The new rules aim to clamp down on greenwashing, when firms make exaggerated or misleading claims about the environmental credentials of their investment products. The Financial [...]