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☆ Don't confuse customers over stablecoins, Bank of England warns lenders
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A pedestrian walks past the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Bank of England FollowLONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Bank of England told lenders on Monday that they must avoid any risk that customers might confuse new forms of e-money like 'stablecoins' with standard deposits which are guaranteed against bank failures. Stablecoins are a cryptocurrency backed by a traditional currency such as sterling or the U.S. dollar, or an asset. To the extent that systemic payment systems using stablecoins pose similar risks as other systemic payment systems, they should be subject to equivalent regulatory standards, the BoE said. There are no systemic sterling stablecoins, but Tether, issuer of the world's largest stablecoin, pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by assets including U.S. government debt, said last year it would launch a sterling stablecoin.

Persons: Hollie Adams, BoE, stablecoins, Sheldon Mills, David Milliken, Tom Wilson, Kylie MacLellan, Kirsten Donovan, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Bank of England, City of, REUTERS, Companies Bank of England, U.S ., Financial, European, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain

☆ UK watchdog intervenes again in 'buy-now-pay-later' as users rise
▼ + 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. Companies that offer "buy-now-pay-later" (BNPL) unsecured loans are not regulated by the FCA, though it has used Britain's consumer rights law to make contracts fairer. The watchdog said its latest Financial Lives survey showed that 27% of UK adults or about 14 million people, have used BNPL at least once in the six months to January 2023, up from 17% in the 12 months to May 2022. BNPL is offered over a short period to shoppers who buy to clothes or other retail goods. Frequent users were more likely to be in financial difficulty and to have missed a payment of a bill or credit commitment, the FCA said.

Persons: Toby Melville, Clearpay, Sheldon Mills, Huw Jones, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: FCA, Financial, Authority, REUTERS, Bank of, PayPal, QVC, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bank of England

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ UK to curb crypto advertising with 'cooling off' periods, risk warnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said "refer a friend" bonuses for crypto buyers would also be scrapped and that those promoting such assets would have to put in place clear risk warnings and ensure adverts were clear, fair and not misleading. But research shows many regret making a hasty decision," said Sheldon Mills, executive director at the FCA's consumers and competition division. "Consumers should still be aware that crypto remains largely unregulated and high risk," he said. FCA research shows that estimated crypto ownership has more than doubled from 2021 to 2022, with 10% of 2,000 people surveyed stating they own cryptoassets. Under the new rules, crypto firms will have to carry warnings such as: "Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Crypto, FTX, Sheldon Mills, Myron Jobson, Kirstin Ridley, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, Financial Conduct Authority, FCA, Thomson Locations: Britain

☆ Nearly 6 million Britons missed payments on bills, regulator says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Suban Abdulla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Millions of British borrowers repeatedly missed payments on bills in the six months to January amid the steep surge in the cost of living and higher interest rates, a survey from the Financial Conduct Authority regulator showed on Tuesday. The FCA said the number of adults in Britain who missed payments on domestic bills or failed to meet any of their credit commitments in three or more of the six months to January rose to 5.6 million from 4.2 million in May 2022. The latest survey also showed a significant rise in the number of people struggling to keep up with payments who now accounted for one in five adults. "The convergence of higher living costs and higher interest rates has pushed people’s finances right to the edge and sometimes over," Karen Noye, mortgage expert at Quilter said. It also said it will introduce its Consumer Duty rule in the coming months, requiring firms to ensure they provide better support for consumers.

☆ UK financial watchdog intervenes to cut building insurance costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog has proposed changes to cut the cost of insuring residential apartment blocks, saying intervention was needed to prevent wrongful use of commission. The proposals announced on Friday follow a review after the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed 72 people and led to big increases to building insurance costs. The FCA published a consultation paper on its proposals alongside a review of 16 insurance brokers' sales to blocks of apartments between January 2019 and September 2022. "Brokers were often unable to articulate what insurance-related services or benefits of value were provided by the parties sharing commission," the watchdog said. Leaseholders would have transparency on insurance costs and ability to challenge poor value under the FCA proposals.

☆ Full steam ahead on new consumer 'duty', Britain's finance watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The City of London is seen as buses cross Waterloo Bridge in London, Britain, February 17, 2023. "The deadline of 31 July will not be moved, and we are here to help," Sheldon Mills, FCA executive director for competition and consumers, told a conference. Mills said there had been some "initial resistance", but hard work now should mean fewer expensive mistakes down the line. "After the deadline, we will take a pragmatic approach and will help those who are taking their final steps towards meeting the standards of the Duty," Mills said. Firms must nominate a board member to "champion" the new duty firm-wide, from designing a product to selling it, even through third-party distributors.

☆ UK watchdog proposes banning referral fees for debt advice firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog said on Thursday it proposes to ban firms who give advice on debt from receiving referral fees from other related firms in the sector, citing an acute conflict of interest which can harm customers. It has estimated that around 52,000 of the 1.7 million people who seek debt advice every year begin with a debt packager, a figure which has likely increased due to the cost of living crisis. Debt packagers are regulated providers of debt advice, who refer indebted customers to debt solution providers - in return for a referral fee - which make formal arrangements to repay debt. Firms representing two-thirds of the market in customer numbers have either left or suspended their activities since the FCA first raised concerns in July 2021, the watchdog added. The FCA said it also proposes to clarify how unauthorised businesses, who source potential customers and recommend a particular debt solution provider to them for advice, may need to be authorised by the watchdog.

☆ UK banks and insurers told to step up help for struggling customers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told banks and insurers on Thursday to do more to help customers struggling with a cost of living crisis as it investigates 40 banks for dragging their feet. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"We’ve told lenders that we expect them to support struggling customers, particularly as they have the data to spot the warning signs first," Mills told a City & Financial conference. "We have identified 30 firms that need to do more to help struggling customers and will investigate the activities of 40 more," Mills said. The FCA on Thursday wrote to heads of insurers, saying they should help to avoid policy cancellations or consider waiving policy cancellation fees. Over three million customers have fixed rate deals that are due to expire in the next two years, meaning they face a big hike in monthly payments.

The FCA has been criticised by lawmakers and the crypto sector for being slow in processing licence applications and for rejecting swathes of applicants despite the UK government's push to make London a global crypto hub. "That is a benefit to the UK economy and UK financial service industry, and is good for competition, inward investment and growth." Crypto firms are scrutinised by the FCA for their ability to stop their operations being used for money laundering or financing terrorism. read moreMills said 95 people have been hired to the watchdog's authorisations team and the pending caseload has fallen by 40%. Mognetti said the European Union's new set of 'MiCA' rules for fully licensing crypto firms will put the EU at an advantage over Britain.

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