Category Archives: Regulators

Nigel Farage says new Coutts boss has offered to keep his accounts open

Posted on by

Former Ukip leader is still taking legal action against bank demanding compensation and apology

Nigel Farage has said that the newly installed boss of Coutts has offered to keep his accounts there open, reversing a decision that triggered a scandal and the resignation of the private bank’s previous chief executive.

The former Ukip leader said he welcomed the offer but was still taking legal action against NatWest, which owns Coutts, demanding compensation, a full apology and a face-to-face meeting with the banking group’s bosses.

Continue reading...

Sciensus’s licence partly suspended after death of cancer patient

Posted on by

Regulator acts after firm paid millions by NHS for healthcare gave patients wrong chemotherapy dose

Britain’s health regulator has partly suspended the manufacturing licence of Sciensus, a private company paid millions by the NHS to provide vital medicines, after the death of a cancer patient who was given the wrong dose of chemotherapy.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it had taken “immediate” action under regulation 28 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 law “where it appears to the MHRA that in the interests of safety the licence should be suspended”.

Continue reading...

Heathrow failed to meet minimum accessibility standards, CAA report finds

Posted on by

Airport only one to be rated as ‘poor’ and ‘needs improvement’ over all four quarters in year to March

Heathrow failed to meet the minimum accessibility standards for disabled passengers in the year to March, the sector’s regulator has said.

The airport was the only one in the UK to be rated as “poor” and “needs improvement” by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over all four quarters in the period, according to the report.

Continue reading...

Financial firms must boost protections against AI scams, UK regulator to warn

Posted on by

Financial Conduct Authority chief to highlight risks of ‘deepfake’ fraud as well as benefits of Artificial Intelligence

The head of the UK’s financial regulator is to warn that banks, investors and insurers will have to ramp up their spending to combat scammers using artificial intelligence to commit fraud.

Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will say that there are risks of “cyber fraud, cyber-attacks and identity fraud increasing in scale and sophistication and effectiveness” as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widespread, in a speech in London on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Watchdog summons UK bank bosses to discuss weak savings rates

Posted on by

Financial Conduct Authority to meet executives on Thursday as part of its investigation into savings market

UK bank bosses have been summoned to a meeting with the financial watchdog this week amid mounting concerns that they are profiting from rising interest rates by offering paltry savings rates to customers.

Executives from the big high street names Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, HSBC and Barclays, as well as from smaller lenders, are due to attend a meeting at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Thursday to discuss concerns that savings rates are lagging far behind the soaring costs of mortgages and loans.

Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK water giants recruit top staff from regulator Ofwat

Posted on by

Demands for an end to the ‘revolving door’ as ex-Ofwat directors are hired by key firms

Two-thirds of England’s biggest water companies employ key executives who had previously worked at the watchdog tasked with regulating them, the Observer can reveal.

Cathryn Ross, the new interim joint chief executive of Thames Water and a former head of watchdog Ofwat, is one of several ex-employees working for water companies in senior roles such as strategy, regulation and infrastructure.

Continue reading...

Thames Water could delay accounts as turmoil in water industry grows

Posted on by

Firm refuses to say when it will publish annual report; pressure builds on regulator Ofwat

Thames Water has refused to say when it will publish its annual report and accounts, which had been expected by investors next week, as concerns mount over the company’s financial viability.

The risk of delay will add to the turmoil engulfing England’s 11 privatised water companies, after a day in which board directors, ministers and regulators scrambled to restore calm as discussions continued over a potential temporary nationalisation of Thames Water.

The Environment Agency (EA) announced it was sending specialist investigators into water companies across England to secure evidence in the biggest criminal investigation into illegal sewage dumping since privatisation.

The experienced City troubleshooter Sir Adrian Montague was parachuted in to take over as chairman of Thames, a role he will take up on 10 July.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said it was for Ofwat “in the first instance” to monitor the financial resilience of water companies, adding to pressure on the regulator.

Continue reading...

SSE to pay near-£10m penalty over licence breach

Posted on by

Sum follows Ofgem inquiry into firm’s power generation arm earning ‘excessive payments’ from National Grid

The energy regulator has said the power generation arm of Scottish energy company SSE will pay a near-£10m penalty for breaching the terms of its licence.

Ofgem said a detailed investigation had found that SSE Generation had secured “excessive payments” from the National Grid, the electricity system operator (ESO), during periods of what is known as “transmission constraint”.

Continue reading...

AI should be licensed like medicines or nuclear power, Labour suggests

Posted on by

Exclusive: party calls for developers without a licence to be barred from working on advanced AI tools

The UK should bar technology developers from working on advanced artificial intelligence tools unless they have a licence to do so, Labour has said.

Ministers should introduce much stricter rules around companies training their AI products on vast datasets of the kind used by OpenAI to build ChatGPT, Lucy Powell, Labour’s digital spokesperson, told the Guardian.

Continue reading...

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance hits back at SEC lawsuit, saying allegations ‘simply wrong’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed. You can read the full report here: Binance accused of mishandling funds

Here’s a quick summary of what happened today:

The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, the most serious action taken by US regulators against the company.

The SEC said that Binance operated a shell company, Binance.US, to skirt federal regulators, along with diverting customer funds to outside entities.

Binance issued a response to the SEC’s lawsuit saying that it had been complying with regulators’ “questions” and was looking to negotiate a settlement with the agency.

In the aftermath of news of the complaint, the price of Bitcoin fell below $26,000 for the first time since March.

Continue reading...

South West Water under investigation over leaks and usage figures

Posted on by

Shares in owner Pennon Group fall as it says Ofwat has launched inquiry into South West Water

South West Water is being investigated by the industry regulator over whether it accurately reported leaks and figures showing how much water is used by its customers.

Pennon Group, which owns South West Water and Bristol Water Group, told its shareholders Ofwat had announced an investigation into the company’s operational performance during 2021 and 2022.

Continue reading...

UK competition watchdog launches review of AI market

Posted on by

CMA to look at underlying systems of artificial intelligence tools amid concerns over false information

The UK competition watchdog has fired a shot across the bows of companies racing to commercialise artificial intelligence technology, announcing a review of the sector as fears grow over the spread of misinformation and major disruption in the jobs market.

As pressure builds on global regulators to increase their scrutiny of the technology, the Competition and Markets Authority said it would look at the underlying systems, or foundation models, behind AI tools such as ChatGPT. The initial review, described by one legal expert as a “pre-warning” to the sector, will publish its findings in September.

Continue reading...

‘Unprepared’ Twitter among tech firms to face tough new EU digital rules

Posted on by

Designation as ‘very large online platform’ along with 16 other major names means big penalties for breaches

Twitter is among the tech firms that will face the toughest level of scrutiny under a new European Union regulatory regime for monitoring digital platforms, after warnings from Brussels that the Elon Musk-owned platform is unprepared for the new rules.

The company, which Musk bought in October 2022, has been designated a “very large online platform” under the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which means complying with measures such as publishing an independent audit of its compliance with the legislation.

Continue reading...

Major tech firms face hefty fines under new digital consumer bill

Posted on by

Global companies like Google, Apple and Amazon could have to pay penalties of up to 10% of their global turnover as government gives competition watchdog more power

Major tech firms face the threat of multibillion-pound fines for breaching consumer protection rules under new legislation that will tackle issues including fake online reviews and subscriptions that are difficult to cancel.

The digital markets, competition and consumers bill will empower the UK’s competition watchdog to tackle the “excessive dominance” that a small number of tech firms hold over consumers and businesses.

Continue reading...

EY plan to break up consultancy and audit divisions blocked by US office

Posted on by

Accountancy firm confirms work has stopped on radical scheme after internal concerns about structure

EY has scrapped plans for a radical breakup of its global operations after internal disputes over the potential structure of the new businesses.

The company started laying the groundwork for separating its audit and advisory businesses – under the codename Project Everest – last year, as the big four accounting firms faced mounting criticism about conflicts of interest between the two divisions.

Continue reading...

CMA to investigate Amazon’s $1.7bn takeover of Roomba firm

Posted on by

Competition watchdog calls for evidence deal could give online retailer dominance in smart home market

Amazon’s $1.7bn takeover of the owner of the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner is being examined by the UK’s competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called for evidence on whether the deal could lead to “a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services” and so would require a full investigation.

Continue reading...

Watchdog to block shareholder payouts if UK water companies miss targets

Posted on by

Ofwat says new powers will be used if firms fail to reach performance and environmental goals

The UK water regulator is to use new powers to block companies from shareholder payouts if they fail to hit performance and environmental targets.

Ofwat, which in December heavily criticised some of the country’s biggest suppliers over the size of dividend payments relative to their financial performance, said the new rules would also mean water companies would “maintain a higher level of overall financial health”.

Continue reading...

Ladbrokes fined nearly $80,000 for failing to stem damage from man who stole millions for gambling

Posted on by

Regulator finds firm did not inquire as to source of Gavin Fineff’s funds and instead ‘provided attractive bonuses’

The sports wagering company Ladbrokes has been fined nearly $80,000 for serious breaches of its licence and failing to limit damage caused by Gavin Fineff, a financial adviser who stole millions of dollars from his clients to service his gambling addiction.

Fineff has pleaded guilty to multiple fraud-related offences in the New South Wales district court and is awaiting sentencing. He lost more than $8m to sports gambling, with much of that money belonging to friends and clients, some of them elderly and vulnerable.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

‘Greenwashing’ firms face steep new UK fines for misleading claims

Posted on by

Legislation could see companies fined millions of pounds for making unproven environmental assertions to sell their products

When the hydrogen-powered Hyundai Nexo car was launched in the UK in the spring of 2019, it was described as “so beautifully clean” that it “purifies the air as it goes”.

Hyundai Motor UK claimed that if 10,000 of its cars were on the road, carbon emission reduction would be “equivalent to planting 60,000 trees”.

Continue reading...

Sub-prime lender Amigo avoids £73m fine after claiming hardship

Posted on by

FCA finds company put customers at high risk of harm by failing to assess whether they could repay loans

The sub-prime lender Amigo has dodged a £73m fine despite having put consumers at a “high risk” of harm, amid fears that the financial penalty could have led to its collapse.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation found Amigo put business interests ahead of its customers, by failing to properly assess whether customers, or their guarantors, could afford to repay loans they applied for – noting faults in both its automated tech and human oversight between November 2018 and March 2020.

Continue reading...