FCA TO GAIN NEW POWERS TO SUPPORT BANKS IN PROVIDING ACCESS TO CASH 

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be handed new powers by the government to ensure local communities across the UK have access to cash (The Guardian). The regulator will be in charge of making sure the UK’s largest banking and building societies give consumers access to withdrawal and deposit facilities such as ATMs within a “reasonable” distance from their community. The changes will be legislated for as part of the forthcoming Financial Services and Markets Bill (Financial Times).

In December 2021, the Access to Cash Action Group, chaired by Natalie Ceeney, set out plans on how the banking and finance industry will deliver on its access to cash commitments through a range of solutions, including shared bank hubs and free ATMs, alongside cashback without purchase which was recently expanded to cover over 2,000 shops.

THE CHANCELLOR CALLS ON BUSINESSES TO HELP BOOST THE LONG-TERM PROSPERITY OF THE UK

The chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday called on businesses to "invest, train and innovate more” to help boost productivity and improve the long-term prosperity of the UK (Sky News). Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry’s annual dinner, he also added that the Autumn Budget will see the government cut taxes for businesses to encourage them to invest, saying that the government was ‘ready to do more’ (Financial Times).

NEWS IN BRIEF

New scam warnings have appeared in Tesco stores across the country as the supermarket has teamed up with UK Finance’s Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign (UK Finance)

Charities have called on the government to bring forward increases in benefits and the state pension to support people struggling with the cost of living (BBC News).

US stock markets saw their largest fall yesterday since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic (Financial Times).

The Trades Union Congress has said the government should take urgent action to fix a gender pensions gap, with research showing that women working in many industries have half the retirement savings of men (The Guardian)