Britain’s biggest banks, law firms and accountants have cancelled plans to bring thousands of workers back to the office following new advice from ministers – dragging the City back into shutdown and sparking fresh fears for the tottering London economy. Some of the Square Mile’s biggest businesses have said that staff […]
city
Relief for City as EU extends bank access to London clearing houses
The European Union is to tell its banks that they can continue to access UK clearing houses until mid-2022, allying fears in the City that London could be suddenly shut out of the lucrative market. Clearing houses – which process financial products worth hundreds of billions of pounds every day, acting as middlemen between buyers and sellers for […]
New York City faces ghost town future as workers stay away
Figures released this week by United Vans showed people flooding out of the Empire State during the pandemic, as 67pc of all long-distance moves were made by people leaving and only 33pc were by people moving in. According to a report from New World Wealth and Webster Pacific, the combined wealth in […]
City watchdog wants to limit compensation to victims of its blunders
Consumers who have been left tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket because of mistakes made by the City watchdog could soon see their compensation payments capped. Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s proposals, cases where the customer has experienced distress and inconvenience will be limited to £1,000 payouts while […]
JPMorgan and Linklaters signal end of the daily commute for City workers
Meanwhile Linklaters has told employees worldwide that they will be allowed to spend between 20pc and 50pc of their time working remotely once all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, as long as they tell their bosses in advance and are able to get the job done. Employees who come to the […]
Schroders to allow thousands of staff to work from home in milestone for City
Blue-blooded fund manager Schroders is to allow thousands of staff to permanently work from home in a radical overhaul of its rules, as the City abandons the traditional nine-to-five shift. The FTSE 100 investment business has become the first major London institution to tell workers they will no longer be required to […]
City under pressure to curb cascade of illicit Russian cash
Ben Cowdock, co-author of the report, says change will be a “slow burner”, adding: “The culture in a lot of these private sector organisations is not going to change overnight. Especially when you look at companies that go out of their way to target high-risk organisations.” Even then, he adds, […]
City watchdog signals end of mortgage payment holidays
Homeowners should not be offered further payments breaks if they are still struggling to pay their mortgage, the City watchdog has said. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, customers with mortgages, credit cards or personal loans have been able to ask their bank for a three-month repayment break if […]
City firms still exploiting vulnerable customers, watchdog finds
Banks, insurers and other financial firms are not doing enough to support vulnerable customers, a report by the City watchdog has warned. The Financial Conduct Authority said that some customers had been exploited for financial gain by unscrupulous firms. Its review found that 24 million people have displayed at least one […]
City watchdog bans commission between car dealers and lenders
People buying new cars on finance could save up to £165m per year after the City watchdog banned dealers from hiking interest rates in return for a commission. At present, car dealerships can choose to increase the rate of interest that customers pay above what the credit lender has determined. In return for […]