Financial Conduct Authority: Lenders ‘unclear’ on bereavement policy April 14, 2025 Lenders “can improve” their treatment of bereaved customers, the Financial Conduct Authority has said. The City watchdog has published a framework outlining good and poor practice to help firms “provide the right support” to consumers who are facing difficult times. The FCA said the introduction of the Consumer Duty in July 2023 has helped provide [...]
FCA set to overhaul hedge fund and alternative investment rules April 7, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority has launched a consultation to soften regulations on hedge fund and alternative investment management rules. In an announcement today, the Treasury said it will be lifting the size threshold for alternative asset managers to be subjected to the main rules for the sector, from £100m in assets under management to £5bn. [...]
Close Brothers shares soar past target price whilst FTSE 100 banks sink April 3, 2025 Shares in FTSE 250 lender Close Brothers rallied on Thursday morning whilst its banking rivals HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered tumbled. The lender made gains as high as ten per cent during early trading before consolidating around five percent, as the bank clawed back recent losses. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered led the FTSE 100 losses at [...]
UK has become the epicentre of WhatsApp scams in Europe April 1, 2025 The UK has become the epicentre of WhatsApp scams in Europe, with British consumers losing more money on the platform than in any other country. Analysis compiled by Revolut revealed that in 2024, WhatsApp fraud accounted for 21 per cent of all reported scams in the UK, with victims losing an average of £2,437 per [...]
Santander becomes first major lender to loosen mortgage rules March 28, 2025 Santander has become the first major UK lender to relax its mortgage rules following a nudge from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Homebuyers could be able to borrow an extra £35,000 on a mortgage under the changed rules. The UK’s fourth-largest mortgage lender will reduce rates on borrower’s stress tests, which are used to check [...]
City regulator faces grilling on Treasury’s growth agenda March 25, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was grilled by the Treasury Committee on Tuesday after it unveiled its new five-year strategy. Members of the committee questioned the gap between the government’s growth agenda and how the FCA was prepared to deregulate. Chair of the Treasury Committee Dame Meg Hillier, said the regulator’s structure led to it [...]
FCA chief vows to support growth agenda ‘with urgency’ March 25, 2025 The chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said the watchdog is “going so much further” on its mission to boost growth in the UK, amid pressure from the government for regulators to cut red tape. Writing in City PM this morning, Nikhil Rathi said the FCA had presented the Prime Minister with [...]
Financial watchdog to push savers to take more risk March 24, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to encourage retail investors to up their level of risk when managing their savings, as part of its mandate to support growth in the UK economy. The watchdog has drawn up the plans as part of a new five-year strategy that is set to launch later this week, [...]
City regulator appoints Asia-Pacific director in growth push March 20, 2025 A top director at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will head up a new role in Asia as part of the regulator’s bid to boost growth, City PM has learned. Camille Blackburn, who is currently the director of wholesale buy-side at the regulator, will head up growth operations in the Asia-Pacific region. This follows the [...]
FCA fines London Metal Exchange £9.2m over 2022 nickel volatility March 20, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority handed a landmark £9.2m fine to the London Metal Exchange after it failed to prevent extreme volatility in the nickel market in March 2022. In its first ever enforcement action against an investment exchange, the FCA criticised the exchange’s systems and controls that did not ensure “orderly trading under conditions of [...]
