Category: Regulation
Moving backwards on bank regulation
The Treasury's latest response to the Northern Rock crisis seems to me a grave backward step in bank regulation. I refer to the proposal that in future any Bank of England support for an ailing financial institution should be done...
Posted by David Worsfold on February 1, 2008 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Where is the Man from the Pru when you need him?
The Treasury Select Committee has been berating the Financial Services Authority for its failure to get to grips with financial exclusion. The select committee rightly points out that much more needs to be done and that producing leaflets and knocking...
Posted by David Worsfold on November 28, 2006 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
FSA swings into action on hedge funds
The Financial Services Authority's sudden move to demand greater transparency from hedge funds is very welcome and shows a degree of determination to cast light into the more mysterious corners of the markets that outstrips past reforms. Predictably, it has...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 19, 2008 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Treasury's Travel Trumps
The clearing of the decks before this week’s changing of the political guard has brought an unexpected bonus for the insurance industry with the announcement by Treasury minister Ed Balls that all travel insurance sales are going to be regulated...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 26, 2007 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Trades unions fear mis-selling crisis
Every year or so the All Party Parliamentary Group on Insurance & Financial Services has a dinner with the trades unions representing workers in the financial services sector. Although there is spread of unions and staff associations active in the...
Posted by David Worsfold on March 5, 2007 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Travel battle lines are drawn
The deadline on the consultation period for the Treasury's review of the sale of travel insurance passed yesterday with absolutely no new light being shed on the subject. Just about all the submissions were as predictable as they come and...
Posted by David Worsfold on February 23, 2007 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Noose tightens on ratings agencies
The threat of tough rules to bring the ratings agencies into a new pan-European regulatory framework took a step closer to reality last night as the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee voted through a hard-hitting package of proposals.The...
Posted by David Worsfold on March 24, 2009 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Goodwin's pension is obscuring the issue
There is no coherent argument that can be offered for defending Sir Fred Goodwin's pension and it was disappointing to see yesterday's hearings of the Treasury Select Committee largely wasted in pursuing the City minister Lord (Paul) Myners over the...
Posted by David Worsfold on March 18, 2009 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Brown has lost the regulatory reform battle already - he just can't bring himself to admit it
As hard as he might try, it looks as if Gordon Brown has already lost control of the debate on the future regulation of the world's financial services industries. His pleas to President Obama and the US Congress for...
Posted by David Worsfold on March 6, 2009 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Does the FSA really have the answers?
Macho posturing. Empty macho posturing. That could be the overwhelming feeling one is left with in the wake of the Financial Services Authority's appearance before the Treasury Select Committee. Certainly if you relied on the BBC's Robert Peston you would...
Posted by David Worsfold on February 26, 2009 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Europe draws up the battle lines on financial regulation
It should come as no surprise that the European Commission will launch a bid to create a pan-European financial regulator. The abject failure of national regulators to prevent, predict or plan for the successive crises that have swamped the financial...
Posted by David Worsfold on February 25, 2009 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Credit crunch confidence crisis
There is no shock value in the current crisis-ridden climate when a consumer group says the financial services sector has a mountain to climb to restore consumer confidence. Which? - once the Consumers Association - set out this case with...
Posted by David Worsfold on February 17, 2009 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
PPI Clampdown hits the mark
If you need any confirmation of the low regard in which banks are now held by MPs just listen to the deafening silence that greeted the Competition Commission's draconian action on payment protection insurance. In any normal climate, there...
Posted by David Worsfold on February 4, 2009 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
FSCS bill mounts up
John Greenway's dire warning at the Post Magazine Business Leaders Forum Parliamentary Reception on Tuesday evening that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme could be sending some large bills in the direction of insurance brokers, IFAs and insurers next year and...
Posted by David Worsfold on October 9, 2008 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Who will scrutinise the nationalised banks?
There is a rising chorus of criticism of the ineffectiveness of Parliament during the current crisis. Today in The Guardian for instance, Simon Jenkins launches a stinging attack on the failure of the House of Commons to break away from...
Posted by David Worsfold on October 8, 2008 2:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Treasury Committee picks off its targets one-by-one
The Treasury Select Committee looks to be pursuing an interesting strategy when it comes to reporting on its in-depth inquiry into the causes of the banking crisis. Usually Select Committees publish single reports at the end of such inquiries with...
Posted by David Worsfold on April 20, 2009 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Is breaking up the RBS and Lloyds a good idea?
I am totally unconvinced by the new Conservative policy of breaking up the partially state-owned banks as their ownership is returned to the private sector. Shadow Chancellor George Osborne's speech advocating this earlier this week was full of glib phrases...
Posted by David Worsfold on April 9, 2009 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
G20 points to a new era of regulation - but by whom?
There will be hundreds of thousands of words written over the next few days analysing the outcome of yesterday's G20 Summit in London and I will be looking hard for an answer to this question: who is in charge of...
Posted by David Worsfold on April 3, 2009 9:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
ABI pitch for London-based regulator is a canny move as G20 meets
Well, they have arrived at Excel and within a few hours we will find out was has been agreed and what has not been agreed. It will no doubt take a forensic scrutiny of every word in the statements published...
Posted by David Worsfold on April 2, 2009 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Equitable Life battle lines become more entrenched
The fight for compensation for Equitable Life policyholders is becoming more embittered at every turn. Just take a look at the tactics and the language being used by both sides over the last couple of weeks.First, the Public Administration Select...
Posted by David Worsfold on March 31, 2009 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
What can Brown salvage from the G20 Summit?
I am still struggling to see where this consensus the Prime Minister keeps talking about over fiscal stimuli and international agreement on future regulation is going to come from. His current mini-world tour in the run up to next week's...
Posted by David Worsfold on March 25, 2009 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Banks could face a mutual future
The second installment of the Treasury Select Committee's report into the banking crisis is a 120 page blockbuster. Predictably, it doesn't pull many punches when it comes to apportioning blame and roundly condemns the banks and their managements for what...
Posted by David Worsfold on May 5, 2009 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sweden lines up with UK in battle over Europe-wide regulatory reform
Perhaps the UK is not quite so isolated in the debate about the reform of financial services regulation in Europe as first appeared.Sweden, which takes over the European Union presidency next month, is apparently lukewarm about the tough line being...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 16, 2009 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
The EU is now out in front in the race to reform financial services regulation
It looks as if the initiative in reforming the regulation of the financial services sector has slipped out of Gordon Brown's grasp. For a brief moment after the G20 Summit in April the Prime Minister was setting the agenda and...
Posted by David Worsfold on May 29, 2009 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Turner's bank tax call: Is FSA boss playing a clever political game over bankers' bonuses?
Crazy or astute? Reaction to Lord Turner's call yesterday for a tax on banking transactions almost instantly polarised opinion. The Financial Services Authority chairman's call for a so-called Tobin Tax certainly came out of the blue and it dramatically raised...
Posted by David Worsfold on August 28, 2009 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
EU gets ready for G20 regulation debate
We are just a month away from the next G20 Summit which is due to take place in Pittsburgh on 24-25 September and yet you would hardly know it was happening. Unlike the last G20 summit in London in April...
Posted by David Worsfold on August 24, 2009 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Treasury Select Committee plays a long game
The long-awaited report from the Treasury Select Committee on the future of financial regulation seems to have disappointed some people. I think they need to look a little harder at what John McFall's committee is saying. Just because it doesn't offer...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 31, 2009 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Treasury Select Committee has its say on regulatory reform
The Treasury Select Committee is promising a blizzard of reports over the next week, including its much-awaited verdict on reform of the financial regulatory system next Friday (31 July). The first reports are out this morning and should have a...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 24, 2009 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Banking reform: reports galore promised over the next couple of weeks but will they get us any further foward?
Those following the debate about reform of the regulation for the banking and financial services sector are promised a wheelbarrow load of reports over the next couple of weeks: plenty of summer holiday reading.Today, we will see the report from...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 16, 2009 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Vince Cable's book The Storm is worth reading for a real insight into the causes and consequences of the financial crisis
The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What it Means is a breathtaking tour of economic policy that amply demonstrates why Vince Cable has eclipsed all other politicians with his response to the financial and economic crises of the last...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 14, 2009 9:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Regulation of banks, building societies and insurers now looks to be a significant political battleground
The initial reaction to the Chancellor's announcement of a relatively tame and limited package of reforms of financial regulation has to be that the most significant aspect is actually the Tories' response. The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, told the House...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 8, 2009 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Merricks departure as Financial Ombudsman leaves a very big hole to fill but a decent legacy
Walter Merricks' decision to step down as chief ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service does, for once, merit the description of being the end of an era. He has been the only holder of that post in the ten years...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 6, 2009 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Flood defence spending and Thoresen review get legislative nod from Gordon Brown
The government has been very slow to put any flesh on the bones of the Prime Minister's statement on Building Britain's Future yesterday, in which he set out the draft legislative programme for the session that will start in November...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 30, 2009 9:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Little progress on Equitable Life but pressure could build up to move the Treasury
The debate on Equitable Life in Westminster Hall yesterday ran along pretty predictable lines with MPs of all parties giving eloquent voice to the raw anger of their constituents over the length of time it is taking to get them...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 25, 2009 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Irresponsible bankers will smile at the global regulatory reform chaos
The last week has seen a flurry of activity around the world on the regulatory front but I have a suspicion that the only people who will be really satisfied are the very people at whom the reforms are...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 22, 2009 9:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
EU offers best hope of RDR delay and rethink but banks special pleading doesn't go down well
Up to now, I have been extremely skeptical about the prospects of delaying or substantially altering the Financial Services Authority's Retail Distribution Review. The whoops of delight from many independent financial advisers when the Conservatives announced their intention to abolish...
Posted by David Worsfold on October 29, 2009 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
John McFall puts the "too big to fail" issue on the political agenda and John Greenway bows out
Interesting to see that the Treasury Select Committee chairman, Labour MP John McFall, has tabled an Early Day Motion (no 2008) in the House of Commons calling for the big banks - those deemed 'too big to fail' to be...
Posted by David Worsfold on October 14, 2009 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
So many of the big issues for financial services were overlooked at the party conferences, although Cameron did remember at the last minute
I have watched, waited, searched and searched again for signs that our three main political parties are looking for answers to some of the key issues surrounding the future of the financial services sector. My wait appears to have been...
Posted by David Worsfold on October 9, 2009 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
At last the mutuality debate gets underway, starting with Northern Rock
As bankers' bonuses grab the headlines and the European Union and G20 battle it out over who is leading the way in reshaping financial regulation, the debate about when and how to return the nationalised banks to the private sector...
Posted by David Worsfold on September 28, 2009 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
EU hedge fund debate is getting an injection of commonsense
The European Union's headlong rush to be seen to be tough on hedge funds - which many in Europe find an easy target to blame for the financial turmoil of the last couple of years - is being slowed down....
Posted by David Worsfold on September 17, 2009 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Competition Commission should stick to its guns over PPI sales ban
The news that Barclays has had the front to push ahead with its challenge to the Competition Commission's seven day ban on selling payment protection insurance alongside a loan or a credit card astounded me. I think this is real...
Posted by David Worsfold on September 9, 2009 5:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Obama bank plan puts UK on the defensive and EU in the shade
Barak Obama has clearly run out of patience, not just with Wall Street but with other governments and financial regulators around the world. His shock announcement yesterday of a a radical new regulatory regime for the banking sector has obviously...
Posted by David Worsfold on January 22, 2010 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
UK financial services is now a clear EU target
There is only one way to sum up the shake-up in the European Commission portfolios from a UK perspective - we were totally stuffed. We lost out lock, stock and barrel, leaving the UK financial services sector looking very exposed...
Posted by David Worsfold on November 30, 2009 8:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Plenty to keep the insurance industry occupied in Parliament's final session but what will make it over the finishing line?
The political arguments about the Queen's Speech might still be raging but my plea to the insurance industry is not to be fooled by those into failing to have a good look at what is coming up in Parliament in...
Posted by David Worsfold on November 23, 2009 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tories need to clarify financial regulation plans
People in the financial services sector are getting nervous about the lack of clarity in the Conservative plans for reform of financial services regulation. In the eight months since they announced their opposition to the existing tripartite system and intention...
Posted by David Worsfold on March 16, 2010 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Sants' departure from the FSA clears the way for reform of regulation
The surprise announcement this morning by the chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, Hector Sants, that he will leave by the summer presents a golden opportunity to re-model the way financial services regulation is delivered in this country. With...
Posted by David Worsfold on February 9, 2010 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The election could be good news for Equitable Life policyholders
Suddenly, there are very few certainties in this election. Amid all that uncertainly, however, we do know that anything other than an outright Labour victory, which looks extremely unikley at the moment, should result in a proper compensation scheme being...
Posted by David Worsfold on April 19, 2010 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Labour rediscovers an appetite for mutuality, co-operatives and a People's Bank
Image via WikipediaMutuality is back on the political agenda - at least that is what my initial reading of Labour's election manifesto suggests could happen if they win the election. Of course, whether it is noticed depends on how the...
Posted by David Worsfold on April 12, 2010 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The Tories have got their way over the future of regulation - that's the story behind the abolition of the FSA
Last night's announcement by the Chancellor, George Osborne, that there is to be a massive overhaul of financial regulation with the Bank of England moving firmly into the driving seat and the Financial Services Authority falling by the wayside is...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 17, 2010 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
The Tories have got their way over the future of regulation - that's the story behind the abolition of the FSA
Last night's announcement by the Chancellor, George Osborne, that there is to be a massive overhaul of financial regulation with the Bank of England moving firmly into the driving seat and the Financial Services Authority falling by the wayside, is...
Posted by David Worsfold on June 17, 2010 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Evans sets out his views on regulation
I took advantage of Incisive Media's close relationship with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Insurance & Financial Services to invite Jonathan Evans, the new chairman, into our offices to meet some of our editors. It led to a fascinating...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 7, 2010 2:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Equitable Life: it wasn't meant to be like this
The announcement yesterday by Treasury minister Mark Hoban that we are still probably at least a year away from getting compensation into the hands of Equitable Life policyholders falls some way short of the expectations that the coalition government partners...
Posted by David Worsfold on July 23, 2010 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Cable hints at the battle in the Coalition over the FSA
Image via WikipediaVince Cable's candid interview in today's Guardian confirms that the decision to abolish the Financial Services Authority and split its role between a beefed-up Bank of England and a new Consumer Protection and Markets Agency was a matter...
Posted by David Worsfold on August 9, 2010 9:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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David has been a financial journalist for 30 years and is currently Group Editorial Services Director at Incisive Media.
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