INDUSTRY CALLS FOR REGULATION TO PROTECT SCAM VICTIMS

The banking industry has called for new regulations to protect customers from authorised push payment (APP) scams after a proposed long-term, sustainable funding system for scam victims in ?no blame? situations under the voluntary Code was rejected by the payment scheme operator Pay.UK (Financial Times, p2, £; The Guardian, p43; The Times, p47, £).

An industry voluntary Code was launched in May following joint work between industry representatives and consumer groups. Under the Code, customers of signatory payment service providers are reimbursed if they are the victim of an APP scam, provided they did everything expected of them under the Code. The industry has been working for several months to develop a funding system for ?no blame? situations where both the payment service provider and the customer did everything expected of them under the Code.

CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS COULD BE PART OF ECB STRESS TESTS

The European Central Bank (ECB) is considering whether to include the potential risks from climate change in its future banking sector stress tests, ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos told a conference in London yesterday (Reuters, online only). While a methodology for calculating the risks has not yet been developed, it is possible it could be in place by the 2022 round of stress tests, Reuters reported. 

Meanwhile, the CEOs of two major fund management firms have said that the ?obsession with ever-increasing GDP? and shareholder primacy needs to be rethought in favour of protecting the environment (Financial Times, £).

NEWS IN BRIEF

Financial firms need to do more to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace, and while progress has been made regarding culture, there are 'too many situations where staff don't feel safe?, the Financial Conduct Authority's Jonathan Davidson has said (The Guardian, p45).

British firms saw a decline in overseas orders in the third quarter of this year, with more exporters reporting a decline in cashflows than improvements, according to the British Chambers of Commerce's latest international trade outlook (The Times, p44, £).

Retail sales declined by 0.1 per cent in October, the third consecutive month of negative growth and the worst period since late 2016, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (Daily Telegraph, B3, £).

Over 241,000 new homes were completed in 2018-19, the highest level since figures were first collected in 1991, according to data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (The Guardian, p41).

WHAT THE COMMENTATORS SAY

Writing in The Times (p45, £), Oliver Kamm considers that the impact of the internet on Britain's shopping habits may have been overstated. While spending online has certainly increased, Mr Kamm highlights recent data from the Office for National Statistics which shows that more that 80p in every pound is still spent in physical shops. Instead, internet retailers may have contributed to steady inflation, with high street retailers unwilling to raise prices given that consumers can easily switch online. However, there is a ?free rider problem? where people browse in store but buy online, which Mr Kamm concludes is for the retail industry to devise a solution to.