Category: financial regulation

Do not-so smart pension reforms mean FCA wants pensioners to be ScamSmart? – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted March 26th, 2015 in consumer protection, financial regulation, news, pensions by sally

‘Less than two weeks after Martin Wheatley’s speech identifying April’s ‘big bang’ pension reforms as “[t]he defining challenge of our time”, the FCA has launched a website called ‘ScamSmart’ dedicated to helping retail investors identify fraudulent investment scams. Martin Wheatley’s keynote speech and the launch of the ScamSmart website indicate the level of concern in the FCA about the impact of the reforms on UK pensioners. The strength of these concerns is confirmed in today’s Business Plan which includes plans for the FCA to carry out a thematic review (with, presumably, intense supervisory and enforcement work to follow) into the suitability of pensions and retail investment advice.’

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RPC Financial Services Blog, 24th March 2015

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Changes announced to UK’s venture capital rules – Technology Law Update

Posted March 19th, 2015 in budgets, financial regulation, news by sally

‘Although there is precious little detail until the Finance Bill is published next week you may be interested in the following new Budget announcements concerning SEIS/EIS/VCT investments – I haven’t included previously announced measures.’

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Technology Law Update, 19th March 2015

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

FCA warns of potential pitfalls of ‘retweeting’ in new social media guidance – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 16th, 2015 in advertising, codes of practice, financial regulation, internet, news by sally

‘Financial services companies that ‘retweet’ comments on Twitter could find themselves in breach of rules on financial promotions, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Payday lenders still misleading and threatening customers, says FCA – The Guardian

Posted March 11th, 2015 in debts, financial regulation, loans, news by tracey

‘The City regulator has uncovered a litany of unfair practices at payday lenders including sending threatening text messages, pursuing customers for the wrong amount and misleading people about the effect of non-payment on their credit rating.’

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The Guardian, 10th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bank of England to boost watchdog role after failing to spot forex rigging – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2015 in banking, financial regulation, news by tracey

‘The Bank of England plans to beef up its watchdog role after it failed to spot one of the biggest scandals in the City’s recent history. The central bank said a “root-and-branch” review of its market intelligence operations had found that some staff were unfamiliar with the way City firms operated.’

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The Guardian, 26th February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

FCA to conduct first review of competition in UK investment and corporate banking – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 24th, 2015 in banking, competition, conflict of interest, financial regulation, news by sally

‘The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to formally review competition between banks that provide investment and corporate banking services after finding “unanswered questions about potential conflicts of interest and value for money”, it has announced.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd February 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

PPI problems still the cause of most complaints to financial ombudsman – The Guardian

Posted February 24th, 2015 in banking, complaints, financial regulation, insurance, news, reports by sally

‘Complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI) are still making up two-thirds of all the cases being dealt with by the financial ombudsman, which named Lloyds and Barclays as Britain’s two “most complained-about” financial firms.’

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The Guardian, 24th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

FCA could call time on PPI claims – The Guardian

Posted January 30th, 2015 in compensation, complaints, financial regulation, insurance, news, time limits by sally

‘Britain’s financial watchdog has raised the possibility of introducing a time limit on complaints about payment protection insurance, the mis-selling scandal that has cost banks more than £17bn in compensation.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

P2P lending platforms’ marketing scrutinised by FCA – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 29th, 2015 in advertising, banking, financial regulation, news by sally

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms risk being told what terminology they can and cannot use in their marketing material if concerns identified by the UK’s City watchdog go unaddressed, an expert has said.

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th January 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

New laws to protect those cashing in pension pots – The Guardian

Posted January 27th, 2015 in financial regulation, news by sally

‘The financial regulator is rushing in new rules aimed at protecting people keen to cash in their pension pots from making bad decisions that could cost them dearly later on.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New rules governing UK banks and investment firms in financial difficulty come into force – OUT-LAW

Posted January 23rd, 2015 in banking, EC law, financial regulation, insolvency, news by sally

‘UK regulators have published final rules governing how they will treat banks and investment firms in financial difficulty, following changes to EU law which will require investors and bondholders to bear the cost of bank failure.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd January 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Director loses appeal against FCA fine and ban in conflict of interest case – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 14th, 2015 in appeals, company directors, company law, conflict of interest, financial regulation, fines, news by tracey

‘A non-executive director who failed to declare a conflict of interest has lost her appeal against the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which had fined her £154,800 and banned her from holding a regulated financial services role.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th January 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Complaint trends for 2015 – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted January 8th, 2015 in complaints, financial advice, financial regulation, news, pensions by sally

‘The FOS yesterday published its 2015/16 budget consultation.　 In short, we can expect more of the same.’

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RPC Financial Services Blog, 7th January 2015

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Determined deterrence – what next? – White Collar Crime Blog

Posted December 3rd, 2014 in banking, financial regulation, fines, markets, news, sentencing by sally

‘The FCA’s Penalty Notices in the recent Spot FX Trading Investigation totalling £1.1 Bn set out very careful and thorough explanations of how the respective Penalties have been reached, identifying the relevant guidance and breaches of Principle. In the FCA’s Final Notice for Citibank for example, following the principles and guidance in the FCA’s Decision Procedures and Penalties Manual, the FCA expressly referred to five criteria: the need for “credible deterrence”, the nature, seriousness and impact of the breach, failures to respond adequately as regards conduct against the context of the LIBOR enforcement actions, Citibank’s previous disciplinary record and the discount applicable for settling terms “at an early stage of the Authority’s investigation”.’

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White Collar Crime Blog, 28th November 2014

Source: www.2harecourt.com

FCA report on complaint handling more optimistic than many feared – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted November 26th, 2014 in complaints, consumer protection, financial regulation, news by sally

‘The FCA has finally published its report on its review of consumer complaint handling at 15 major retail financial services firms. Despite the expressed intention at the launch of the review last year for phase 2 to “consider firms’ approach to redress and root cause analysis”, the report is explicitly and determinedly forward-looking and does not – as some feared – criticise firms’ failures to root out systemic historic failings and proactively provide redress. In the end, the FCA’s stated aim was to uncover potential barriers to effective complaints handling and developing solutions going forward.’

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RPC Financial Services Blog, 24th November 2014

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Financial Conduct Authority hopes £1.5bn in fines will change behaviour – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2014 in financial regulation, fines, news by sally

‘The City watchdog has hit financial firms with nearly £1.5bn of penalties so far this year – more than three times the record level of fines it levied in 2013.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

RBS fined £56m for IT meltdown – The Guardian

Posted November 20th, 2014 in banking, computer programs, financial regulation, fines, news by tracey

‘Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined £56m for a meltdown in its consumer systems that locked 6.5 million customers out of their bank accounts for days on end in June 2012.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Barclays may face massive new penalty over currency rigging – The Guardian

Posted November 13th, 2014 in banking, financial regulation, fines, fraud, news by tracey

‘Barclays could face a huge new penalty for rigging currency markets after pulling out at the 11th hour from the settlement talks that led to £2.6bn of fines being slapped on six other big players in the currency markets. Barclays will not be eligible for the 30% discount on the fines handed to its rivals in exchange for settling early after its surprise move not to participate in the settlement with US and UK regulators. The bank, which was the first to be fined for rigging Libor in 2012, is reported not to have agreed to the settlement with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the US commodity futures trading commission because of continuing talks with another US regulator.’

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The Guardian, 13th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Banks fined record £2bn over foreign exchange rigging – The Guardian

Posted November 12th, 2014 in banking, financial regulation, fines, news by tracey

‘Regulators on both sides of Atlantic impose fines totalling £2bn on HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, JP Morgan and Citigroup.’

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The Guardian, 12th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

FCA fines and bans senior Swinton management figures over sales culture failings – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 11th, 2014 in company directors, financial regulation, fines, insurance, news by tracey

‘The former chief executive, finance director and marketing director at a UK insurance provider have been served with fines by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and banned from taking senior positions at other financial services companies in the future.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th November 2014

Source: www.out-law.com