You can use the search function to find a range of UK Finance material, from consultation responses to thought leadership to blogs, or to find content on a range of topics from Capital Markets & Wholesale to Payments & Innovation.
1. Industry committed to financial services access for all
2. Buy-to-let landlords exit market due to Government clampdown
3. Further Brexit delay will harm economy
The fall in the number of high street shoppers in April 2019 compared with a year ago, according to the British Retail Consortium (The Guardian, p37).
A new report from the Treasury committee, published today, highlights that access to financial services and financial inclusion are issues of fundamental importance to UK consumers, as well as contributing to a functioning economy. The report also looks at the closure of high street bank branches and how this could impact vulnerable customers who tend to favour using cash over payment methods such as contactless payments and online banking - cash, generally, is declining in popularity as a payment method (The Times, £, p2).
A solution to bank branch closures is ensuring that local Post Offices become viable ?banking hubs? where staff are trained to provide key banking services (The Telegraph, £, online only). Day-to-day banking services are already available at over 11,500 Post Offices.
Responding to the report, Stephen Jones, CEO of UK Finance, said:
The industry takes its societal responsibilities extremely seriously and is committed to looking after every customer, including those in vulnerable circumstances. The industry's commitment to financial inclusion is best illustrated by the basic bank account which offers free in credit banking to nearly 7.5 million customers and is designed specifically to ensure that the widest range of citizens can have free, safe access to the banking system, including the disadvantaged. We will continue to work closely with the government, regulators, the Treasury Committee and wider stakeholders to deliver better access and outcomes for all in our society.
A recent survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has found a quarter of buy-to-let landlords are planning to sell at least one property this year, due to the upcoming ban on letting fees and changes to the law in matters of eviction The Times reports (£, p38).
Separate data by Hamptons International reveals landlords in England and Wales saw an average rise of 30 per cent on their property's value from point of purchase in 2018. It is reported owning a property in London is likely to yield the highest profit when selling (Financial Times, £, p2).
Deputy governor of the Bank of England, Ben Broadbent has warned that any further delay to Brexit after October will further depress business investment and damage the UK's long-term economic outlook. Mr Broadbent warned that investment has already been ?feeling the consequences? and that in three years? time will still be short of the level the UK was due to achieve before the most recent delay (The Guardian, online only).
Meanwhile, The Times reports (£, p1) formal Brexit talks with Labour could be scrapped as calls for more indicative votes are seen as only the way forward as pressure increases on prime minister Theresa May to name a definitive date when she will step down.
Austin Elwood and Sairoze Hemani, managers in the Payments Policy team, UK Finance, blog today on making Confirmation of Payee work for all.
The European Banking Federation has called for greater efforts to remove barriers to cross-border capital flows in the EU and create an integrated Capital Markets Union (Reuters, online only).
Employees working on AI projects are most likely to quit due to potentially harmful product decisions to society, with one in four people handing in their notice because of this (City AM, print only, p10).
Services like Klarna, a pay-later service with no fees or penalty charges to the consumer, have been mooted as the reason for Gen Z's consumer spending behaviour, attitude to money, and access to quick and cheap debt (The Telegraph, £, online only).
Targets to ensure that women occupy at least 25 per cent of top roles in firms are not been met with the Investment Association identifying 57 of the UK's largest listed companies failing this target (The Guardian, p3).
The six major banks from the Nordic region are joining forces to crack down on money laundering, Reuters reports (online only).
Peter Estlin, lord mayor of London, writes in today's City AM (p20) that the UK's financial and professional services sector is rising to the challenge of tackling climate change. £90 trillion is needed globally by 2030 to achieve climate change objectives but this should be seen as a significant opportunity, not a challenge. Estlin writes that City firms sharing their expertise and experience will help emerging nations like Colombia and Brazil to realise their economic ambitions, particularly in sustainable development.
Larry Elliott, economic editor of The Guardian, writes in today's paper (p37) that the success of British football clubs in European matches offers parallels to the success of British companies, highlighting the contrasting growth between those UK companies who export and those who do not. The importance of investing in talent is also another parallel firms can draw from recent football success.
Sign up below to receive the News in Brief straight to your inbox
22.04.24
19.04.24
17.04.24
By downloading this document, you understand and agree that any sharing, distribution or republishing of the content, without prior written authorisation from the author or content managers at UK Finance, shall be constituted as a breach of the UK Finance website terms of use.
