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1. UK Finance and Linklaters LLP publish joint Ethics in Banking and Finance report
2. House of Commons paves way for Brexit delay
The percentage year-on-year rise in British house prices in February, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index (Reuters, online only).
A new online guide to Ethics in Banking and Finance launched by UK Finance today, in partnership with law firm Linklaters, provides firms and individuals operating in the sector with key reference points for governance, strategy and decision-making informed by ethical principles.
The online guide provides firms and senior leaders with a reference resource relating to workplace culture, conduct and ethics, and helps users to navigate the interaction between various aspects of company law, corporate governance, financial regulation and market-based guidance and acts as a useful reference point for boards, non-executive directors, and senior managers.
Commenting on the publication of Ethics in Banking and Finance, Stephen Jones, UK Finance CEO said:
?Today, the role of business is under increasing scrutiny. As important as the profit and dividend that a company generates for its shareholders or members is the way in which these returns are generated on behalf of all stakeholders. Understanding the extent to which customers, work colleagues and the communities in which the business operates benefit or are negatively impacted by its performance is increasingly viewed as vital in measuring the impact of its activity. Good conduct, culture and ethical behaviours are at the core of sustainable, long term performance. Whilst relevant for all types of business, these factors are particularly critical for the healthy operation of businesses in banking and finance.
?This online resource is intended to help firms and individuals in banking and finance navigate the critical issues businesses face within their daily decision-making. The aim is not to duplicate, let alone interpret, underlying statute, regulatory and market expectations but instead to bring them together in a way that hopefully provides a useful oversight.?
Last night the House of Commons voted overwhelmingly in favour of an amendment brought by Yvette Cooper, which binds the government to hold a vote on whether to seek an extension of the Article 50 period in the event that its deal does not gain MPs? formal approval (The Sun, £, p8 ). Following the round of votes, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced that his party will table an amendment providing for a referendum on the government's withdrawal agreement deal - with an option to remain in the EU - to the second meaningful vote motion, expected to be tabled and voted upon on 12 March (BBC News, online only).
The prospect of a delay to the UK's withdrawal has been given a mixed reception in EU capitals: German chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday said that Germany ?wants an orderly Brexit?, and that ?if the UK needs a little bit more time we will not say no?. Speaking alongside her at a joint press conference in Paris, French president Emmanuel Macron took a harsher line, saying that ?under no circumstances would we accept an extension without a clear perspective? on the purpose behind the UK's request for a delay (Politico, online only). Meanwhile, the Financial Times (£, online only) reports on confidential legal advice from the European Parliament's in-house lawyers that says that in the event of an extension, the legislature could be ?validly constituted? even without the UK electing MEPs in the May European elections.
Giving evidence to the House of Lords EU financial affairs sub-committee, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Andrew Bailey yesterday warned that the EU Commission's reluctance to grant an equivalence decision to the UK's over-the-counter derivates market poses a threat to financial stability on both sides of the channel (The Times, £, p40). His comments follow an agreement between EU governments and lawmakers to tighten supervision of investment firms that offer ?bank-like? services (Reuters, online only).
In other Brexit news, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) yesterday approved the UK's application to remain party to its Government Procurement Agreement, which governs $1.7 trillion worth of annual public procurement opportunities (Bloomberg, online only).
Remortgaging in London reached a decade-high in 2018, while the number of first-time buyers in the capital also rose, according to the latest UK Finance Regional Lending Trends (City AM, online only).
More than a million public sector workers in Britain are paid less than the amount required to make ends meet, according to a report from the Living Wage Foundation (The Guardian, online only).
Ireland's data regulator has published details on its sixteen investigations into social media companies Facebook, Twitter, Apple and LinkedIn, warning in a statement that they will face large fines if they are found to have breached GDPR (Financial Times, £, p6)
The Guardian (online only) reports that Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson will today announce new proposals for an overhaul of online gambling regulation, one notable policy being to impose caps on the amount that people can bet online and the speed at which they can do so.
Paul Chisnall, Director, Finance and Operations Policy, blogs on the importance of ensuring firms act ethically in the way they conduct business, following the release of today's Ethics in Banking and Finance report.
The Financial Times? (£, online only) Lindsay Cook notes that debit card transactions overtook their cash equivalent in 2017, and celebrates the benefits to consumers and businesses arising from the transition from cash to electronic payments. However, she cautions that care must be taken to ensure that vulnerable customers and small businesses are not disadvantaged by the changes.
Leader writer Simon Nixon argues in The Times (£, p41) that initial hopes the euro could one day rival the dollar as a global currency have faded, with the currency accounting for just 22 per cent of international financial transactions in 2017. However, he remarks that threatened US sanctions against Iran have strengthened the desire for a stronger international role for the euro as this would give the EU greater strategic autonomy. He concludes that boosting the euro's global role could reduce exchange rate risk for domestic companies and allow banks to benefit from access to cheap funding, but that Germany is currently resisting these attempts due to concerns about the risks of greater eurozone integration.
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