The pound fell heavily after the Bank of England wrongfooted the City by leaving interest rates at their record low level of 0.1%, despite forecasting a jump in inflation to 5% by next spring. Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, said the decision was a “very close call” and put...
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The Chancellor will set forth plans in his Budget to prepare the UK for a “new economy post-Covid”. Rishi Sunak will outline a vision for “an economy fit for a new age of optimism”, with the Chancellor prioritising Boris Johnson’s “green industrial revolution” while returning to some sort of...
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New research from digital banking platform Tide revealed that UK SMEs are chasing an estimated £50bn in late payments with the average small business chasing five outstanding invoices at once, wasting an hour and a half every day. London-based businesses are the hardest hit with an average of seven...
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Research by Moneyfacts reveals that banks are now charging an average of 25.1% for credit card purchases – the highest-ever figure – leading former pensions minister Baroness Altmann to accuse providers of profiteering. Baroness Altmann says the Bank of England’s attempt to stimulate the economy by lowering its base...
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The Financial Conduct Authority has announced a crackdown on the car financing industry which it claims will save drivers £165m. It says that some dealers make commission on the loan’s interest rate, which they set, something which “creates an incentive for brokers to act against customers’ interests”. Some brokers...
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The Financial Conduct Authority could ban insurers from moving policyholders on to more expensive policies when they renew deals, with a probe finding that around 6m customers were being overcharged by £1.2bn a year. The FCA found that customers who were initially offered “new business” discounts were regularly subject...
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MPs have urged ministers to force banks to commit to keeping at least one local branch open in towns across the UK. In a new report, Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee recommends introducing legislation if banks refuse to provide such a guarantee. It follows an inquiry by the committee into...
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Barclays’ head of consumer banking and payments has warned that compliance concerns around challenger banks risk “creating a bad name for the banking industry”. Ashok Vaswani said that concerns around the ability of start-ups to automatically monitor transactions are “dangerous” for the sector. “At the end of the day,...
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Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that public sector net borrowing rose sharply in June, hitting £7.2bn. This marks the highest June borrowing figure since 2015 and compares to the £3.3bn recorded in June 2018. While the tax and National Insurance take was up £800m on a...
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Chancellor Philip Hammond has called for “radical cultural change” to end the scourge of late payments – which puts 50,000 small firms out of business every year. The Chancellor said companies’ unfair behaviour risks hampering the economy by restricting the growth of smaller firms, as he held urgent talks...
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