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[1/2] Chairman Anthony Thomson (L) and Vice Chairman Vernon Hill pose with a dog outside the first branch of Metro Bank in Holborn in central London July 29, 2010. Metro declined to comment on Tuesday. A Starling spokesperson said the lender was making inroads into the big banks' market dominance. Metro is not the only smaller bank to have faced problems. One option is for smaller banks to gain scale through mergers and acquisitions.

Persons: Anthony Thomson, Vernon Hill, Toby Melville, John Cronin, Caius Capital, Jaime Gilinski, Dorita, Gilinski, Monzo, Starling, We've, Morgan Stanley, Gary Greenwood, Rupak Ghose, Shore Capital's Greenwood, Ghose, Shawbrook, Iain Withers, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Sakoui, Huw Jones, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Chiara Elisei, Nelson Bocanegra, Alexander Smith, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Metro Bank, REUTERS, Yorkshire, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays, Metro, Caius, Varde Partners, Harvard, Forbes, Finance, Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, The Bank of England, Prudential, Authority, Shore Capital, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Shore, Financial, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Holborn, London, BOGOTA, Starling, Colombian, Latin America, Metro, Bogota

☆ 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

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

"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

☆ Metro Bank: Shares in UK bank just plunged over 30%
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Shares in UK lender Metro Bank sank as much as 31% Thursday following a report that it was urgently seeking to raise funds to shore up its finances. Metro Bank opened in 2010 as the first challenger to Britain’s major main street banks — including Lloyds (LYG), Barclays (BCS) and HSBC (HSBC) — in more than 100 years. Metro Bank’s assurances did little to support its share price, which pared some of its earlier losses but was down by 31% again by late afternoon in London. The bank’s shares are down almost 66% since mid-September when UK regulators refused its request to change the way it calculates capital requirements on its residential mortgages book. A Metro Bank branch in the UK city of Sheffield, seen in April Mike Egerton/APThe ratings agency noted that Metro Bank had to refinance a £350 million ($425 million) bond by October 2024.

Persons: “, Fitch, ” Fitch, Mike Egerton, Chris Beauchamp, isn’t, ”, — Hanna Ziady Organizations: London CNN —, Metro Bank, Financial Times, Lloyds, Barclays, BCS, HSBC, —, Metro, Bank, UK Financial, Prudential Regulation Authority, Bank of England, IG, CNN, Financial, Metro Bank . CNN, Prudential, Banking Supervision, Valley Bank, Signature Bank, First Republic Bank, Credit Suisse — Locations: ”, London, Sheffield, United States, United Kingdom, Basel

☆ Revolut strikes share deal with SoftBank to remove barrier to UK licence - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of SoftBank Group Corp is displayed at SoftBank World 2017 conference in Tokyo, Japan, July 20, 2017. Revolut and SoftBank had been locked in months of negotiations, with the Japanese investor demanding stiff compensation for giving up its priority class of shares, the report said. The fintech startup can only win a UK banking license if it gets rid of preference shares held by investors including SoftBank. The standoff was one of the reasons Revolut could not immediately get a banking license. The BOE and SoftBank did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the report, while Revolut and the FCA declined to comment.

Persons: Issei Kato, Revolut, SoftBank, The BOE, Akanksha, Maju Samuel Organizations: SoftBank, REUTERS, Financial Times, Bank of England, Tiger Global Management, Balderton, Ribbit, Financial, Authority, The, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, TCV, Bengaluru

The case concerns a former senior IT manager who raised concerns about how a data loss had been handled. A hearing for Barclays' appeal to the Bombay High Court is listed for Oct. 20, court records show. They declined to comment on the specifics of the Indian case. Gupta has also appealed to the Bombay High Court, court records show, arguing the pay-out awarded was too low, the source familiar with the appeals said. Last year, Gupta also filed a secondary civil case against Barclays, another court filing shows.

Persons: Atul Gupta, Jes Staley, Francesca West, Gupta, Arpan Chaturvedi, Sinead Cruise, Alexander Smith Organizations: Barclays, Reuters, Financial, Authority, FCA, Global Service Centre Private Limited, Bombay High Court, Thomson Locations: Indian, Pune, Bombay

☆ 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

☆ UK watchdog to 'ramp up' checks on how banks assess risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog told banks on Friday it would "ramp up" checks on whether they were properly assessing and managing risks from large customers to avoid any liquidity crunch in stressed markets. "We are ramping up our testing programme to look at how banks are controlling these risks, including more in person supervisory assessments." Under pressure from the European Central Bank, bankers have moved from London to staff these hubs, raising questions about sufficient staff in UK units. "While there are various booking and organisational arrangements underpinning these activities, there should be appropriate oversight for any business booked into the UK," Walls said. The FCA said it may also check how banks deal with non-financial misconduct, such as sexual harrasment.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Liz Truss, Simon Walls, Huw Jones, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Financial, Authority, Bank of England, European Union, Brexit, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ UK watchdog offers flexibility on tougher cryptoassets marketing rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] Bitcoins are seen in this illustration picture taken September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority on Thursday said its tougher rules on marketing cryptoassets would come into force in early October, but firms could apply for more time to comply with some elements such as a 24-hour cooling off period. "Firms could be given until 8 January 2024 to introduce features that require greater technical development, with the core rules still coming into effect from 8 October 2023," the FCA said in a statement. "Firms must first apply for the flexibility which would then allow them time to make the required back-office changes successfully." Reporting by Huw Jones, editing by Iain WithersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Huw Jones, Iain Withers Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson

☆ Direct Line faces $38 million redress bill for overcharging customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signage for the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), 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, Sept 1 (Reuters) - British insurer Direct Line (DLGD.L) has agreed to review overcharging of existing home and motor customers totalling about 30 million pounds ($38 million) for policy renewals, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Friday. "Direct Line Group will carry out a review to identify all instances where a customer has been overcharged and provide appropriate redress," the FCA said in a statement. "As a result, those customers have paid a renewal price higher than they should have," Direct Line said. Earlier this week, Direct Line named a new CEO as it seeks to reset after profit fell by 95% in 2022.

Persons: Toby Melville, Huw Jones, David Goodman, David Evans Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, British, Direct, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Some UK banks improving interest rates for savers, says watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 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. Lawmakers have criticised lenders for being quick to pass on higher Bank of England interest rates to borrowers, but much slower raising rates offered to savers. "In July, we outlined a 14-point action plan to ensure people can access a competitive savings market. The FCA said that since its plan was published, it had seen a greater availability of higher interest rates in both term limited and easy access accounts. "We have also seen moves by some savings providers to align the rates available on accounts currently on sale and those now closed," the watchdog added.

Persons: Toby Melville, Huw Jones, Mark Potter Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Bank of, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bank of England

☆ UK financial data market escapes competition probe for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 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, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog has stopped short of referring parts of the financial data market to the competition authority for now despite concerns over the power of large companies, it said on Thursday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in March that competition in some parts of the wholesale financial data market is not working as well as it should, a sector which includes information on stock prices used by investors. It also launched a study to investigate if markets for benchmarks, credit ratings data and market data vendor services are working well, setting a Sept. 1 deadline to decide whether to refer any of the three market sectors to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The update report highlights emerging issues in these markets, including concerns about the market power of large and established companies, which can reduce competition.

Persons: Toby Melville, Huw Jones, David Goodman Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Financial Conduct Authority, Competition, Markets Authority, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Fintech giant Wise allowed Russia sanctions target to withdraw money, U.K. government says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

British financial technology giant Wise allowed an individual on the Russian sanctions list to withdraw money, a U.K. government body said Thursday. The user was allowed to make a withdrawal of £250 ($316.63) from a business account on Wise, according to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. According to the OFSI, Wise reported a suspected sanctions breach on June 30, 2022. It's one of a rare number of cases of publicly disclosed breaches by a fintech company. Wise CEO Kristo Kaarmann was previously fined by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for failing to pay his taxes on time.

Persons: Wise, Kristo Kaarmann, Kaarmann, Harsh Sinha, Jefferies, Sinha, Kristo Organizations: OFSI, Customs, Financial, Wise, PayPal, eBay, Jefferies Locations: Ukraine

☆ UK's FCA temporarily suspends Superdry's shares on request
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 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 Superdry PLC FollowAug 30 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has temporarily suspended the listing of Superdry Plc's (SDRY.L) ordinary shares of 5 pence each on request, the fashion retailer said on Wednesday. "The board confirms that the delay is a result of normal procedures taking longer than anticipated during the first year that RSM are auditing the company," Superdry said in a statement. The company added it expects to request the listing's restoration on the release of its annual results before the end of the week. Earlier this month, it secured additional funding of up to 25 million pounds ($31.58 million) from restructuring specialist Hilco Capital.

Persons: Toby Melville, Superdry, Eva Mathews, Janane Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, RSM, LLP, Hilco, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bengaluru

This, regulators say, makes it harder for banks to cut costs and absorb losses in a downturn. But many bankers are expected to resist swapping guaranteed pay for potentially higher bonuses, which can swing wildly across economic cycles. UK Finance, the industry body for banks in Britain, did not respond to the public consultation, leaving individual members to comment if they wanted to. Others warned against overplaying the significance of bonuses in Britain's battle to grow its financial sector, still reeling from the loss of big-ticket listings, such as Arm Holdings. "Compensation is a small point in the grand scheme of things of a vibrant financial sector.

Persons: Toby Melville, Luke Hildyard, there'll, Suzanne Horne, Paul Hastings, Horne, Simon Patterson, Edelmann, Oliver Wyman, Sinead Cruise, Huw Jones, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: City of, Regulators, European Union, Bank of England, Financial, Bankers, Reuters, European Banking Authority, International Employment, Britain, EU, Finance, Arm Holdings, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Banks, European, New York, Singapore, EU, Paris, Frankfurt, United States, Japan, Switzerland, London, Europe

☆ Stingy UK bank saving rates may become a non-issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Aug 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Banks are keeping the fruits of higher interest rates for themselves. Between January 2022 and May 2023, the Bank of England hiked rates by 4.25 percentage points. The nine largest UK banks boosted the interest on easy-access savings accounts by 1.18 percentage points, the FCA found. The upshot is that they’ll have to bid more aggressively for funding in the future, for example by raising interest rates on savings accounts. Second-quarter results suggest it too is paying more for funding: interest expense almost doubled between the second half of 2022 and the first half of 2023.

Persons: juicier, BoE, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Authority, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Bank of, FCA, Monday, Reuters Graphics Reuters, NatWest, Barclays ’, Lloyds, Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, European Central Bank, Bank of England, ECB, Spanish, Financial, HSBC, Santander UK, Nationwide Building Society, TSB Bank, Virgin Money, Bank, Thomson Locations: Britain, Spain, Bank of England, Italy, Hungary

☆ HSBC raises outlook as profits nearly double
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —HSBC’s profits have soared as it continues to cut costs and cash in on high interest rates around the world. The strong performance led the London-based lender to raise its outlook for the rest of the year, citing the current consensus for global interest rates. HSBC (HSBC) now projects a return on tangible equity — a key measure of profitability — “in the mid-teens for 2023 and 2024, which excludes the impact of material acquisitions and disposals,” it said. On Monday, a UK regulator said banks needed to do more to share the benefits of high interest rates with their customers as critics point out that many savings rates haven’t kept up with interest rates. “The pace and scale at which firms pass through higher interest rates to savers needs to improve … especially at a time of higher cost of living,” said the agency.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Noel Quinn, haven’t, ” Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Revenue, HSBC, Silicon, Bank, Financial, Authority, Barclays, NatWest Locations: Hong Kong, London, London’s, Canary

☆ UK financial watchdog urges NatWest chair to stay put
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - The chairman of NatWest (NWG.L) Howard Davies should remain in office to ensure stability for the bank, a senior official at Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday. "I agree with his view that it's important to have stability at NatWest and that having a chair remain in place will help support that," Mills told reporters. Davies said he intended to stay on at the bank for now - after also facing calls to resign. "The FCA position is that ultimately it's a decision for the board and its shareholders. We urge those shareholders and board to achieve stability," Mills said.

Persons: Howard Davies, Sheldon Mills, Andrew Griffith, Davies, Alison Rose, Mills, Rose, Nigel Farage's, Huw Jones Organizations: NatWest, Britain's, Authority, FCA, BBC, Thomson

☆ UK markets watchdog ready to pounce as new consumer power comes into force
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The new duty is particularly significant for being more granular, requiring "good outcomes" and no "forseeable harm" for customers across products and services, price and value. The duty will help the FCA tackle harms pre-emptively to stop a mis-selling scandal in the first place, she added. Firms will have to demonstrate to the FCA how they are providing good outcomes, a step the watchdog hopes will improve on the low trust in financial services. It says it will help ensure that banks pass on higher interest rates to savers, and provide help to those struggling to pay a mortgage. ($1 = 0.7770 pounds)Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nisha Arora, Arora, Philip Deeks, James's, Jonathan Herbst, Herbst, KPMG's Deeks, Deeks, Huw Jones, Conor Humphries Organizations: Financial, Authority, FCA, Reuters, Norton Rose, Thomson

☆ Britain's banks told to justify low savings rates by end of August
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, July 31 (Reuters) - Britain's banks and building societies have until the end of August to justify to regulators why some of their savings rates are low or face sanctions, the markets watchdog said on Monday, as Bank of England rates look set to rise to their highest since 2008. Smaller lenders offer higher savings rates than their bigger rivals, the FCA added. "Firms offering the lowest savings rates will be required to justify by the end of August how those rates offer fair value, according to the consumer duty that enters into force today," the FCA said in a statement. Banks and building societies offering the lowest rates have to complete a "fair value" assessment for the regulator by the end of August. The FCA will also review the timing of changes to savings rates each time BoE rates move, publish an analysis every six months of easy-access rates, analyse how savings products contribute to profitability and, by the end of March 2024, review how firms engage with customers.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Banks, BoE, Huw Jones, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, Financial Conduct Authority, Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, Santander UK, Barclays, Nationwide Building Society, TSB Bank, Virgin Money, Bank, FCA, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ NatWest CEO resigns after admitting to 'serious error' over Nigel Farage leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

NatWest CEO Alison Rose on Wednesday stepped down with immediate effect after she admitted a "serious error of judgment" in discussing former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage's relationship with the bank with a senior BBC journalist. The board appointed Paul Thwaite to helm NatWest for an initial period of 12 months, the company said in a statement. "The board and Alison Rose have agreed, by mutual consent, that she will step down as CEO of the NatWest Group," Howard Davies, chairman of the board, said. Coutts' website advises its clients should be able to borrow or invest at least 1 million pounds with the bank or hold 3 million pounds in savings. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it had urged the NatWest board to review the matter independently and welcomed its statement.

Persons: Alison Rose, Nigel Farage's, Paul Thwaite, Howard Davies, Coutts, Rose, Farage, Peter Flavel, NatWest's Davies, Davies, Rose —, Simon Jack, Jack, Sheldon Mills, Andrew Griffith Organizations: NatWest, BBC, NatWest Group, BBC Business, Authority, Treasury, Reuters, Government Investments

NatWest has faced intense political and media scrutiny over a decision by its private bank Coutts to close Farage's accounts. In a post on the X social media platform on Wednesday, Farage called for further heads to roll in the wake of Rose's resignation. On Tuesday, Farage said on his eponymous TV show that Rose was "unfit" to run a bank. She realised that her comments had left Jack with the impression that the decision to close Farage's accounts was solely a commercial one, Rose said in the statement. Rose also said she was not part of the decision-making process to "exit" Farage's accounts and said this was a decision made by Coutts.

Persons: Alison Rose, Nigel Farage's, Paul Thwaite, Coutts, Farage, Rose, Simon Jack, Howard Davies, Davies, Peter Flavel, Jack, NatWest's, Sheldon Mills, Andrew Griffith, Iain Withers, Sinead Cruise, Urvi, Juby Babu, Simon Jessop, Mark Potter, Edwina Gibbs, Louise Heavens Organizations: NatWest, BBC, BBC Business, UK Treasury, Reuters, Government Investments, Authority, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

While there are no international sanctions on Russian metal, many consumers are shunning aluminium produced by Rusal (RUAL.MM), which accounts for 6% of global supplies. U.S. import tariffs on Russian aluminium and products are also prompting some consumers to "self-sanction". Some analysts estimate the discount for Russian aluminium at $100-$300 per metric ton, Norsk Hydro said. As LME aluminium prices are referenced in contracts between consumers, producers and traders, the dominance of Russian aluminium in the system is a problem, said Norsk Hydro's Chief Financial Officer Paal Kildemo. "There is still a risk that even more Russian aluminium will be delivered to LME further weighing on the reference price...

Persons: Paal Kildemo, Kildemo, Rusal, Pratima Desai, Polina Devitt, Eric Onstad, Veronica Brown, Jason Neely Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Norsk Hydro, Reuters, Britain's Financial, Authority, Norsk, Shanghai Futures Exchange, CME, Hydro, FCA, Thomson Locations: Norwegian

☆ UK tightens rules over bank account closures after 'debanking' criticism
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) - Banks in Britain will be forced to explain and delay any decision to close an account under new rules announced by the finance ministry on Thursday. "The government has stepped in to address fears that banks are terminating accounts because they disagree with someone’s political beliefs," the Treasury said in a statement. On Wednesday, the Financial Conduct Authority said it was talking to NatWest about the handling of Farage's accounts. Under the new rules, banks will need to explain any closure and customers will be given more time - 90 days - to challenge a decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service, or find a replacement bank, the Treasury said. Reporting by William James, Editing by Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Banks, Andrew Griffith, William James, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: Treasury, Financial, Authority, NatWest, Financial Ombudsman Service, Thomson Locations: Banks, Britain

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