Category Archives: Financial sector

Reeves to host bosses of UK and US financial firms as Trump visit begins

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Chancellor hosting Downing Street talks with Treasury secretary, which are aimed at securing more US investment

Rachel Reeves will host the bosses of top US and UK financial firms in Downing Street on Tuesday morning, as Donald Trump begins his official state visit.

The meeting, which will be jointly hosted by US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, will be attended by senior figures from BlackRock, Barclays and Blackstone, who will have roundtable talks with officials hoping to highlight economic cooperation between the two countries.

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US drugmaker Merck scraps £1bn London research centre and cuts 125 science jobs

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New blow to UK’s key life science sector as industry body says country is losing ground on investment and research

The US drugmaker Merck has scrapped a £1bn London research centre and is laying off 125 scientists in the capital this year, in a big blow to the UK’s important life science sector.

Keir Starmer’s government has described life sciences as “one of the crown jewels of the UK economy” and the previous Conservative government had vowed to turn the country into a “global science and technology superpower” by 2030.

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Millions in line for payouts from £18bn car loan compensation scheme

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City regulator says motorists should start to get payments in 2026 with ‘most payouts likely to be under £950’

Millions of drivers could be handed a share of a multibillion-pound compensation package after the City regulator said it would open a redress scheme for consumers affected by the car finance scandal.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will consult on the redress scheme, which could cost banks between £9bn and £18bn when it begins paying consumers compensation next year.

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Bank of England governor blocks Rachel Reeves’s Revolut meeting

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Concerns about chancellor’s involvement in independent process over fintech’s banking licence

The governor of the Bank of England blocked a meeting that Rachel Reeves tried to secure with watchdogs and Revolut, amid concerns the chancellor was meddling in an independent process over the fintech’s UK banking licence.

Andrew Bailey intervened after learning of the plan to bring together representatives from Revolut, the Treasury and the Bank’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority, to discuss the fintech’s ambitions to become a fully authorised UK bank.

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Private equity fund offers car tycoon €1.1m to settle claim over investment cash

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Big Motoring World founder Peter Waddell says Freshstream made him forfeit sum as it saw him as a nuisance

A private equity company accused of ousting a multimillionaire used car salesman from his own business has offered to pay €1.1m (£950,000) to settle a separate case with him.

Peter Waddell filed his first high court claim against Freshstream last year, alleging that the investment firm used an independent investigation into contested sexist, racist and abusive comments “as a means of securing [his] exclusion” from his used car empire, Big Motoring World. Freshstream had acquired a one-third share in Big during 2022.

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UK watchdog investigates eight years of Deloitte audits of mining firm Glencore

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FRC examines whether accounting firm ‘gave sufficient consideration to risk of non-compliance with laws’

The accounting firm Deloitte is under investigation by the sector regulator over eight years of its audits into the FTSE 100 commodities and mining company Glencore and a UK subsidiary.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was looking into whether Deloitte’s audits of Glencore and its subsidiary Glencore Energy UK for the financial years ending 2013 to 2020 “gave sufficient consideration to the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations”.

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Ministers to revive Blair-era Pensions Commission to tackle savings crisis

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Revived body will examine future of the retirement system as analysis shows pensioner income is set to fall

The government is resurrecting the Pensions Commission, amid fears that a retirement crisis could mean today’s workers will be poorer in retirement than the current crop of pensioners.

The move by ministers to revive the landmark commission, established by Tony Blair’s government in 2002, comes as analysis shows that the income of pensioners is set to fall in the coming decades.

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Reeves to say cuts to City red tape will bring trickle-down benefits to households

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Chancellor to announce raft of deregulation changes as City regulators move to pare back transparency rules

Rachel Reeves will claim that cutting red tape for City firms will have trickle-down benefits for households across Britain, as she tries to drum up support for a new financial services strategy.

A raft of regulatory reforms are due to be announced by the chancellor on Tuesday, in what the Treasury says will be the “biggest financial regulation reforms in a decade”. It will come before her Mansion House address to City bosses during a dinner at Guildhall in London on Tuesday evening.

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Credit Suisse was ‘warned’ about Greensill three years before firm collapsed

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Anonymous messages questioned judgment of senior managers in dealing with Greensill, says Swiss regulator

Bosses at Credit Suisse were warned against dealing with the Australian financier Lex Greensill’s eponymous company three years before the collapse of his Greensill Capital, which once employed the former UK prime minister David Cameron as an adviser.

The “character judgment” of senior Credit Suisse managers was challenged in anonymous messages they received as early as 2018, which raised concerns over the Swiss bank’s dealings with Greensill, according to a report by the Swiss regulator Finma, released under a London court order after a request by the Guardian and other media.

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Government sells final shares in NatWest 17 years after £45bn bailout

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Sale ends state ownership of the banking group, then known as Royal Bank of Scotland, after 2008 rescue

The UK has sold its final shares in NatWest Group, ending 17 years of state ownership since the £45bn taxpayer bailout that saved the bank from collapse at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

The full privatisation of NatWest is a symbolic moment for the banking group – formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – and draws a line under the most tumultuous chapter in its near 300-year history.

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About £1bn in car loan compensation at risk because data deleted, lawyers warn

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Lenders’ routine purging after six years means details of some car buyers due compensation may have been lost

Consumers are at risk of losing £1bn of compensation over inflated car loans because high street banks and specialist lenders deleted their data, claims lawyers have warned.

Borrowers, banks and the government are anxiously awaiting a ruling from the supreme court that could spark one of the biggest redress schemes since the £50bn payment protection insurance (PPI) saga.

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UK ministers to meet bank bosses over lending to small businesses

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Rachel Reeves concerned that lenders’ restrictions are holding back growth in the SME sector

Ministers will meet bank bosses on Tuesday to discuss how big lenders can support the government’s growth strategy as concerns mount inside Whitehall that small businesses are struggling to access the funds needed to make vital investments.

Senior executives from HSBC, NatWest and Lloyds are expected to explain how they will meet the government’s mission to increase lending after criticism from business groups about the lack of credit available after the pandemic.

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UK offshore havens miss deadline for transparency plans

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British Virgin Islands criticised for launching financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation

UK offshore havens have missed a deadline to publish their plans to improve corporate transparency, as MPs criticised the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in particular for launching a financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation.

Jurisdictions including the BVI and Bermuda pledged last year to approve laws allowing access to company ownership data to those with a “legitimate interest” by April 2025, with implementation to follow in June.

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Trump tariffs likely to drag down weak UK growth, Bank policymaker warns

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Sarah Breedon says too early to judge impact on inflation of ‘most significant change in trade policy in a century’

UK economic growth will be hit by US tariffs, which are the biggest trade policy change in a century, a senior Bank of England official has warned.

Sarah Breeden, the Bank’s deputy governor for financial stability, said on Thursday that business activity was likely to be adversely affected by Donald Trump’s tariff regime, dragging down the UK’s already weak growth rate.

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Major UK investors join push for retail giants to pay workers ‘real living wage’

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Axa and Scottish Widows back ShareAction campaign for chains such as Next to pay at least £12.60 an hour

Major investors including Axa and Scottish Widows are backing shareholder resolutions pressing retailers Next, Marks & Spencer and JD Sports to increase pay for thousands of workers.

More than 100 individuals and eight institutional investors, which manage over £1tn in assets, are backing an effort to encourage companies to pay a “real living wage”, which is designed to ensure workers can cover necessary household costs.

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City watchdog ponders rule changes to simplify comparisons of financial products

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FCA to explore simplifying communications about savings accounts and review parts of its credit advertising rules

The City watchdog is considering changing rules to allow people to receive clearer information from financial firms to make it easier for them to find and compare products.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is exploring how it can simplify communications about savings accounts. The watchdog, which will announce its five-year strategy on Tuesday, will also review parts of its credit advertising rules, such as lengthy terms and conditions.

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Miner Glencore considers ditching London Stock Exchange listing

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Group may move primary listing to New York or elsewhere – to get ‘optimal valuation’ – in fresh blow to UK market

Glencore is considering moving its primary share listing away from London, in what would be a fresh blow to the UK’s blue-chip stock exchange following a series of departures.

The chief executive of the mining group said it was studying whether a move would boost its shares – with New York top of the list of potential destinations.

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UK economy grows by 0.1% in unexpected boost for Rachel Reeves

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ONS data showing British national output rose in final quarter of 2024 confounds forecasts of 0.1% decline

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Britain’s economy unexpectedly picked up in the final three months of 2024, official figures have shown, easing pressure on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, after flatlining during the summer.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show gross domestic product rose by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 – after zero growth in the previous three months – to beat the forecasts of City economists and the Bank of England for a decline of 0.1%.

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Rothschild braces for more ‘skeletons in the cupboard’ over conduct of late chair

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Exclusive: Bank holds crisis meeting to discuss response to news that Sir Evelyn de Rothschild left after allegation of sexual misconduct

Senior bankers at Rothschild & Co gathered on Tuesday in a meeting room at its St Swithin’s Lane headquarters in the heart of the City of London to discuss a memo that would shake the storied financial group to its foundations.

The memo, to be sent to staff on Wednesday morning, would admit for the first time that their celebrated former leader, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, had left the bank in 2004 after an allegation of sexual misconduct.

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Evelyn de Rothschild left bank in 2004 after sexual misconduct complaint

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Rothschild & Co investigated complaint against the late financier in 2003 and he left shortly afterwards

The financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild left the bank that bears his family name in 2004 after an investigation into a sexual misconduct complaint, it has emerged.

Staff at Rothschild & Co were told on Wednesday that the late banker, who was a financial adviser to Queen Elizabeth II, left in March 2004 after the complaint in late 2003.

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