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☆ The UK is regulating memes about crypto and other investments to curb scams from 'finfluencers'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Britain's financial services regulator announced guidelines for financial services companies and social media influencers making memes about cryptocurrencies and other investments in a bid to tackle a rise in scams. The Financial Conduct Authority said in a statement Tuesday that any marketing for financial products — including those expressed in memes — should be fair, clear, and not misleading. The watchdog said that financial social media influencers, or "finfluencers," must have the approval of an FCA-appointed representative before publishing advertisements and memes about financial products and services, the FCA said. We will take action against those touting financial products illegally," Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments at the FCA, said in a statement Tuesday. The FCA said that, in 2022, it took down over 10,000 misleading adverts about financial services.

Persons: Lucy Castledine Organizations: Financial, Authority, FCA

☆ UK Opposition Labour Party Pledge Productivity Fix in Latest Pitch to Business
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party will pledge to fix Britain's stagnating productivity at a conference for businesses on Thursday, its latest charm offensive to companies and investors ahead of a national election expected this year. Keir Starmer, leader of the left-leaning party, will tell assembled executives that Labour will "get under the bonnet to fix an unprecedented stagnation in British productivity growth." "The depth of the changes we've made to transform the Labour Party's relationship with business is something I take immense pride in," he will say, according to extracts released by the party. Ahead of the conference, the party's finance policy chief Rachel Reeves said that Labour would champion Britain's financial sector and not bring in a new cap on bankers' bonuses. Labour also wants closer economic ties with the European Union, including deeper co-operation with the bloc on financial services.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak's, Rachel Reeves, Alistair Smout Organizations: Labour Party, Labour, Economic, Conservative, Business, Growth, European Union Locations: Davos

☆ HSBC fined $73 million for 'serious failings' in UK deposit protection
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

HSBC has been fined 57.4 million pounds ($73 million) for "serious failings" in protecting some depositors over several years, in the first penalty of its kind under British rules designed to protect customers if banks fail. This is the second largest fine ever imposed by the PRA, topped only by an 87 million pound penalty on Credit Suisse in July 2023. "The serious failings in this case go to the heart of the PRA's safety and soundness objective," said Sam Woods, deputy governor of the Bank of England and CEO of the PRA. Globally systemically important banks -- such as HSBC and UBS -- are required to plan for resolution, which should allow regulators to unwind them without triggering broader systemic consequences. Britain's deposit protection rules require lenders to ensure critical information is held in order for the FSCS to compensate customers if a firm fails.

Persons: Sam Woods, BoE Organizations: HSBC, of England's Prudential, Authority, Britain's Financial, Credit Suisse, Bank of England, UBS

☆ Barclays shares slip after major backer Qatar cuts stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Qatar Investment Authority, the state sovereign wealth fund which owns Qatar Holding, did not respond to a request for comment. The share sale comes as Barclays embarks on a shake-up to cut costs and revive its share price, which has halved since Qatar first invested in 2008. Barclays' stock fell as much as 4.5% in early trading and was last down 2.5% at 1007 GMT. Qatar became Barclays' largest shareholder during the 2008 financial crisis when it injected 4 billion pounds into the UK bank in a deal that helped avert a taxpayer bailout. Britain's financial watchdog later fined Barclays $55 million for fees paid to Qatari entities in the 2008 fundraising, which Barclays said it would appeal.

Persons: Venkatakrishnan, Vekatakrishnan, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Lawrence White, Danilo Masoni, Andrew Mills, Kirsten Donovan, Emelia Organizations: Barclays, Qatar, Reuters, Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar Holding, Thomson Locations: Qatar, Germany, London, Milan, Doha

☆ Robinhood opens in UK with low-cost US trading to woo clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Robinhood Markets, Inc. is seen at a pop-up event on Wall Street after the company's IPO in New York City, U.S., July 29, 2021. Since then, trading activity has shrunk as people grapple with a cost-of-living crisis caused by high interest rates and inflation. Robinhood said UK customers will have access to commission-free trading of more than 6,000 US-listed stocks and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), without foreign exchange fees and no account minimums. "For too long, UK investors have incurred high fees to invest in the U.S. markets and earned low returns on their uninvested cash," said Jordan Sinclair, president of Robinhood UK. The online brokerage missed Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue earlier this month after a slowdown in trading activity.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Robinhood, Vlad Tenev, Jordan Sinclair, Sinead Cruise, Kirstin Ridley, Jane Merriman, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Inc, REUTERS, Authority, Robinhood, U.S . Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Britain, United States

☆ British investment managers get green light for tokenised funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kevin Coombs/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - British investment managers have got the go-ahead to develop tokenised funds, in which assets are split into smaller tokens backed by blockchain technology, the industry's trade body said on Friday. Tokenisation, or fractionalisation, of funds will enable a fund's assets to trade more cheaply and transparently and investors to buy into a wider range of assets, industry proponents say. Funds authorised by Britain's Financial Conduct Authority can take the first steps towards offering tokenised funds, provided the investments are in mainstream assets and valuation and settlement arrangements don't change, the Investment Association said in a statement. Scrimgeour is chair of a working group which is working with the FCA and Britain's finance ministry to open up opportunities for tokenised funds. Investment managers and exchanges in the United States, Europe and Asia have already taken tentative steps in offering tokenised funds.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, tokenisation, Michelle Scrimgeour, Scrimgeour, Carolyn Cohn, Elizabeth Howcroft, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Britain's Financial, Investment Association, Legal, General Investment Management, FCA, BlackRock, Investment, Thomson Locations: Canary Wharf, London, Britain, United States, Europe, Asia

☆ Hedge fund Qube makes $835 million bet against HSBC shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Hedge fund Qube Research & Technologies has made a 672 million pound ($835.43 million) bet against the shares of HSBC (HSBA.L), a regulatory filing showed. The hedge fund, spun out from Credit Suisse, has taken a short position in HSBC shares worth 0.57% of the lender's market capitalisation, the filing with Britain's Financial Conduct Authority shows. It comes after HSBC reported disappointing third-quarter profits amid losses from its China real estate exposure. A short position is a bet that a company's stock price will decline. The short position was first reported by the Financial Times on Friday.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Qube, Lawrence White, Louise Heavens Organizations: HSBC Bank, REUTERS, Research, Technologies, HSBC, Credit Suisse, Britain's Financial, Authority, FCA, Financial, Thomson Locations: China

[1/2] People walk past a booth of ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), in Beijing, China September 5, 2020. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that business remained normal at ICBC head office, other branches and subsidiaries across the globe. Some market participants said trades going through ICBC were not settled due to the incident and that market liquidity had been affected. ICBC said it had successfully cleared Treasury trades executed on Wednesday and repurchase agreements (repo) financing trades done on Thursday. While market sources said on Thursday the impact of the ICBC hack appeared limited, the attack underlined how vulnerable systems at large organizations continue to be.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, ICBC, Wang Wenbin, Wang, Jerome Powell, Lockbit, Harry Robertson, Yoruk, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alexander Smith Organizations: Asset Management, Fair for Trade, Services, REUTERS, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Global, ICBC's, Authority, Traders, U.S . Treasury, Federal, Treasury, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, China's, ICBC's U.S, Europe, Hong Kong, Shanghai, London, Amsterdam

Sustainability-linked loans (SLL), which were first used in 2017, offer slightly cheaper borrowing, typically around 2.5-10 basis points less, if companies meet goals such as cutting their carbon emissions or improving board diversity. These let banks strip the sustainability-linked label from the loans if targets are no longer deemed appropriate. The banks' tougher standards are discouraging some borrowers from using SLLs entirely, bankers and lawyers told Reuters. The Engie spokesman said the utility would not agree to linking an event of default to sustainability targets. "We have stated our willingness to walk away when sustainability targets were too soft," said Brittany Agostino, vice president in the environmental, social and governance group at Los Angeles-based Ares.

Persons: Toby Melville, Banks, Constance Chalchat, Pascale Forde Maurice, Elliot Beard, Simmons, Beard, I've, David Milligan, Norton Rose Fulbright, Gemma Lawrence, Pardew, Brittany Agostino, Fredrik Altmann, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Isla Binnie, Shankar Ramakrishnan, Simon Jessop, Alexander Smith Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, LONDON, BNP, Corporate, Institutional Banking, Reuters, JPMorgan, Ford Motors, SLLs, CIB's, European, Sustainable Investment Banking, Simmons, Norton Rose, Market Association, BMW, Porsche, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, North America, Asia, Los Angeles, New York

☆ UK finance firms face $510 million levy to fund 2024/25 compensation claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has forecast imposing a levy of 415 million pounds ($510 million) against UK financial firms to fund 2024/25 claims for redress from customers suffering poor advice and insurance provider failures. This indicative figure is higher than for 2023/24, primarily due to larger surpluses that were carried over from the 2022/23 financial year which reduced the 2023/24 levy to 270 million pounds, the FSCS said. The levy is likely to include cover on self-invested personal pension (SIPP) operator failure claims and pay-outs for insurance firm failures that occurred in previous financial years, it added. "FSCS directly contributes to trust and stability in our financial services system and makes a genuine difference to consumers' lives," Martyn Beauchamp, Interim Chief Executive of FSCS said in a statement. Most of our compensation continues to be paid out for poor financial advice and for legacy insurance provider failures - both of which include some of the most complex defaults and claims we handle," he added.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Martyn Beauchamp, FSCS, Sinead Cruise, Simon Jessop Organizations: REUTERS, Britain's, Interim, Thomson Locations: Bishopsgate, London, Britain

☆ EU watchdog sets out capital, liquidity rules for stablecoin issuers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The bloc is deploying the world's first comprehensive set of rules for cryptocurrency and stablecoin markets, and the European Banking Authority (EBA) proposed minimum capital and liquidity requirements for issuers of stablecoins and other types of digitised tokens. The EBA launched public consultations on liquidity requirements for the reserve of assets that back a stablecoin, meaning that only eligible assets of high enough quality can be used. The EBA said that issuers of stablecoins backed by a currency must be able to offer full redemptions at par to investors. Banks may be exempt from liquidity requirements in some instances, given that they already hold liquidity buffers under existing EU bank capital and liquidity rules, the EBA said. The proposed liquidity rules ensure that issuers of stablecoins, which can be non-bank institutions, meet the same safeguards, and also avoid unfair capital or liquidity advantages over banks.

Persons: Stablecoins, Banks, Huw Jones, Louise Heavens Organizations: European Banking Authority, EBA, Thomson

☆ Barclays is sued over ex-CEO's ties to Jeffrey Epstein
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 3 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) was sued this week by investors in its U.S.-listed securities who said the British bank misled them about former Chief Executive Jes Staley's ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Staley was Barclays' chief executive from 2015 and 2021. The investors said Barclays concealed or made misleading statements about Staley's and Epstein's relationship in public statements, regulatory disclosures about risks it faced, and communications with Britain's Financial Conduct Authority. A Nov. 9 hearing is scheduled in Manhattan federal court to consider final approval of the victims' settlement. The case is Merritt v Barclays Plc et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No.

Persons: Toby Melville, Jes, Jeffrey Epstein, Staley, Epstein, C.S, Jonathan Stempel, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Barclays, REUTERS, JPMorgan Chase, Britain's Financial, Authority, Investors, New York Times, JPMorgan, U.S ., Merritt, Barclays Plc et, Court, District of, Thomson Locations: City, London, Los Angeles, Manhattan, U.S . Virgin Islands, U.S, District, District of California, New York

☆ UK financial watchdog urges banks to link bonuses with duty to clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen for the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), the UK's financial regulatory body, at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. The FCA said in a letter to chairs of banks' remuneration committees they should prioritise embedding the new Consumer Duty introduced in July, to ensure customers get fair value and appropriate products and services. "Senior managers and boards, especially those whose role is most relevant to the duty, are accountable for complying with the duty," the FCA said in the letter made public. Banks are currently deciding how to divide up the annual bonus pool as a cap limiting the size of bonuses, inherited from the European Union, expires. The watchdog said banks should ensure that there is a "clear, strong and evidenced link" between behaviours and overall pay, with "timely and transparent" adjustments when appropriate.

Persons: Toby Melville, Banks, Alasdair Steele, Huw Jones, Jan Harvey Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Britain's, Consumer, European Union, CMS, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Crypto firms failing to spell out risks, says UK watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen for the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), the UK's financial regulatory body, at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Wednesday that firms marketing cryptoassets are failing to highlight risks properly to consumers, such as by publishing warnings that are too hard to read. "We expect authorised firms approving the financial promotions of cryptoasset firms to take their regulatory obligations seriously," the FCA said in a statement. "Where this is not happening, we will take action and have already placed restrictions on an authorised firm to restrict it from approving cryptoasset financial promotions." The FCA said on Oct. 10 it was stopping peer-to-peer platform rebuildingsociety.com from approving financial promotions for Binance and other cryptoasset firms.

Persons: Toby Melville, cryptoassets, Huw Jones, David Evans, Jason Neely Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ WhatsApp clampdown highlights video call compliance threat for finance firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Video calls are broadly considered proxies for face-to-face meetings and therefore are currently subject to little or no formal record-keeping obligations. At least two major global banks are now recording Zoom calls, said sources with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named because the information is not public. One bank is recording Zoom calls undertaken by certain staff, including traders, while the other is recording all Zoom calls so content can be reviewed later if needed. FINRA declined to comment on how many firms were subject to the rule or whether the rule also extended to video calls. Video calls pose "unique risks" and technology needed to efficiently screen video calls is not widely used, said Matt Smith, CEO of communications surveillance firm SteelEye.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Brad Levy, Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Matthew Nunan, Gibson, Dunn, Morgan Stanley, Sarah Pritchard, Claire Garrett, Michael Watling, Seward, FINRA, Matt Smith, Ryan, Yonk, Symphony's Levy, Chris Prentice, Michelle Price, Huw Jones, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Finance, Reuters, U.S, EMEA, Microsoft, Britain's, Authority, HSBC, Bloomberg, U.S . Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Employees, American Institute for Economic Research, Washington D.C, Thomson Locations: Marsh, U.S, New York, Washington, London

☆ Crypto exchange Binance to stop accepting new users in UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 16 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said on Monday it will stop accepting new customers in the United Kingdom, in compliance with new regulation restricting promotions from overseas digital asset firms in the country. The Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) new rules around cryptoasset promotions came into effect on Oct. 8. Last week, Britain's financial regulator said it was stopping peer-to-peer platform rebuildingsociety.com from approving financial promotions for Binance and other crypto asset firms, days after Binance announced it had partnered with the company. The FCA in its decision notice had said unregistered cryptoasset firms must not promote cryptoassets to UK consumers unless they have an authorized company to approve the promotions. "We are working closely with the FCA ... are looking to find another suitable FCA-authorised firm to approve our financial promotions as soon as possible," Binance said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Binance, Manya Saini, Devika Organizations: REUTERS, FCA, Thomson Locations: United Kingdom, Bengaluru

☆ UK watchdog fines Equifax $13.4 mln for role in cyber breach
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. The FCA said the hackers could also access the personal data of 13.8 million UK consumers because the data was stored on company servers in the United States. Equifax Ltd had outsourced data such as names, dates of birth, Equifax membership login details, partially exposed credit card details and addresses. "Few companies have invested more time and resources than Equifax to ensure that consumers’ information is protected," Remon said. "There were known weaknesses in Equifax Inc’s data security systems and Equifax failed to take appropriate action in response to protect UK customer data," it said.

Persons: Tami Chappell, rater Equifax, Equifax, Patricio Remon, Remon, Huw Jones, David Evans, Mark Potter Organizations: Equifax Inc, REUTERS, Financial Conduct Authority, FCA, Equifax, Europe, Commissioner's, Thomson Locations: Atlanta , Georgia, U.S, United States, Equifax

"In its response, Barclays relied on information supplied by Mr Staley. Mr Staley confirmed the letter was fair and accurate," the FCA said. "In reality, in emails between the two Mr Staley described Mr Epstein as one of his 'deepest' and 'most cherished' friends," it added. "The FCA has found that Mr Staley was aware of the risk that his association with Mr Epstein posed to his career," the watchdog added. "Mr Staley failed to do this.

Persons: Jes Staley, Jeffrey Epstein, Staley, Arnold, Porter, Epstein, Mr Staley, Mr Epstein, Therese Chambers, JP Morgan Chase JPM.N, JP Morgan, Huw Jones, Sinead Cruise, Kirstin Ridley, Iain Withers, Alexander Smith Organizations: Authority, Barclays, FCA, Bank of England, Barclays Board, U.S . Virgin, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ BoE says it supports FCA move to ban James Staley
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said it supported the decision by Britain's financial regulator, the FCA, fine and ban James "Jes" Staley, the former chief executive of Barclays (BARC.L). "It is imperative that senior managers act with integrity and are open and cooperative with the regulators," the BoE said in a statement. Reporting by William James, editing by Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James, Jes, Staley, BoE, William James, Sarah Young Organizations: Bank of England, FCA, Barclays, Thomson

☆ UK financial watchdog censures insolvent London Capital & Finance
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage is seen for the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), the UK's financial regulatory body, at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Neo London Capital AD FollowLONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Wednesday it had censured London Capital & Finance (LCF) for "unfair and misleading" promotions of minibonds, but there is no financial penalty as the firm is insolvent. LCF, which was licensed by the FCA, "may have knowingly participated in the defrauding" of bondholders, the watchdog said. "The FCA does not consider it appropriate to impose a financial penalty on the firm as it is insolvent and in administration. In 2020, the watchdog banned the mass-marketing of speculative illiquid securities, including speculative minibonds, to retail investors.

Persons: Toby Melville, Therese Chambers, Elizabeth Gloster, Huw Jones, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Neo, London Capital & Finance, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Neo London, LCF

Signage for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Britain's financial regulatory body, is seen at their head offices in London, Britain March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator on Tuesday said it was stopping peer-to-peer platform rebuildingsociety.com from approving financial promotions for Binance and other crypto asset firms, days after Binance announced it had partnered with the company. A Binance spokesperson via email on Tuesday said that the company had invested "an enormous amount of time and resources" in ensuring that it is compliant with the Financial Conduct Authority's rules. "We shared our agreement with Rebuildingsociety.com with the FCA on Oct. 2, almost a full week before the requirements of the updated Financial Promotions Regime came into effect," the Binance spokesperson said. Under the FCA's rules, a firm it has authorised can approve promotions of companies it does not regulate, a system that is being tightened from February by the watchdog.

Persons: Toby Melville, Binance, Elizabeth Howcroft, Huw Jones, Mark Porter Organizations: Financial, Authority, REUTERS, FCA, Rebuildingsociety.com, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, cryptoassets, Leeds, UK

☆ UK finance professionals urged to sign diversity code
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The CFA Institute has 200,000 members globally, with about 12,000 in Britain. Signatories to the code will provide a confidential, annual progress report to the CFA Institute, which will report industry-wide figures once a critical mass of signatories is reached. It comes on top of initiatives such as the Women in Finance charter backed by the finance ministry, which are well established and supported, although progress has been uneven. "The regulator sets the mandatory baseline, we can look to aspirational goals," said Sarah Maynard, global senior head, external diversity, equity and inclusion, at the CFA Institute. Given the global nature of finance, the CFA is also looking at how the code can help join up different national initiatives.

Persons: Toby Melville, Sarah Maynard, Maynard, Huw Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Companies CFA, CFA Institute, CFA, Women, Finance, Britain's, Authority, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, U.S, United States, Canada

"There's been very little marking down of (private) assets," said Con Keating, head of research at Brighton Rock Group, an insurance company for pension schemes. "No-one knows where the next big blow-up for pensions will come from," said Henry Tapper, founder of pension market analysis group AgeWage. He said heavy selling of commercial property and private equity stakes by pension schemes is raising questions over private capital valuations. "It's the right approach to obviously put some scrutiny on private market valuations." But in deals where private equity firms and investors buy and sell portfolios of investments, assets are being valued at less.

Persons: Yann Tessier, Con Keating, Henry Tapper, EY's, Paul Kitson, Burgiss, Ben Leach, Willis Towers Watson, IOSCO, Wilfred Small, Sinead Cruise, John O'Donnell, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: City of, REUTERS, Britain's, Authority, Brighton Rock Group, Reuters, Numis Securities, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Canary, London, Britain, Germany, Sweden

☆ Britain grapples for agreement over listing rules overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain's financial regulatory body, is seen at its head office in London, Britain, March 10, 2022. The decision by UK chip designer Arm Holdings to list in the United States triggered calls in Britain to make London more attractive as a listings destination by easing the rules. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed combining its "premium" and "standard" listing categories, and ease other listing requirements such a requirement for a detailed financial track record, prompting sharp criticism from shareholder groups. The new rules would be confirmed before the end of this year, which the FCA would seek to implement speedily, Pritchard said. Julia Hoggett, CEO of London Stock Exchange, said London was already an attractive listings venue, and "narratives" that keep it down needed challenging.

Persons: Toby Melville, Sarah Pritchard, Pritchard, Julia Hoggett, Hoggett, Huw Jones, Alex Richardson Organizations: Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Arm Holdings, Financial Conduct Authority, London Stock Exchange, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, New York, United, United States

The Viking Star cruise ship is moored at Greenwich with the City of London financial district in the distance, in London, Britain, August 29, 2023. It is absolutely the time for action over words," Alasdair Haynes, CEO of Aquis Exchange, a share trading platform, and chair of financial industry body TheCityUK's Business Council, told Reuters. The main problem for trade bodies is the vast scope of Britain's financial services industry, with each sub-sector and TheCityUK presenting their own reform priorities and ideas, often overlapping. In the meantime, top financial sector executives running global teams of bankers and traders are increasingly bewildered by Britain's inability to make faster progress on a matter of such economic significance. ELECTION LOOMINGSome senior financial industry sources say politics may hamper the City's reform agenda even further, with a general election expected next year.

Persons: Kevin Coombs, Alasdair Haynes, Jeremy Hunt, Nicholas Lyons, TheCityUK, ” Samuel Gregg, Richard Gardner, Huw Jones, Sinead Cruise, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Viking, City, REUTERS, London’s, Mayor, European Union, Aquis, Business, Reuters, Finance, stoke, of, Arm Holdings, Labour, Conservative, American Institute for Economic Research, Investment Funds Association, EU, Thomson Locations: Greenwich, London, Britain, Europe, Asia, United States, Edinburgh, of London, New York, Amsterdam, City, France

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