Government fulfils its pensions promise helping thousands who lost their savings

Thousands of people who lost pensions when their employers went bust will get at least 90 per cent of their pensions guaranteed, as the final phase of the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) regulations are put before Parliament. The Government will pay out £3.5 billion to around 150,000 people.
Minister of State for Pensions Angela Eagle said:
“The Government is completing its promise to provide a just and final settlement for those who lost pension savings when their employers went bust. There can be few greater cruelties than to find the pension you have earned has suddenly disappeared through no fault of your own. That is why the Financial Assistance Scheme, which we are completing with these regulations, is so important to around 150,000 people.”

Banks are different: should accounting reflect that fact?

Speech by Adair Turner, Chairman, FSA
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), London
London, 21 January 2010
FSA chairman, Lord Turner,called for close engagement between global accounting standard setters and those responsible for prudential regulation of the banking sector to address issues arising from the unique systemic nature of banks.

FSA fines Standard Life £2.45m for serious systems and controls failures

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today fined Standard Life Assurance Limited (SLAL) £2.45m for serious systems and controls failings that resulted in the production of misleading marketing material for its Pension Sterling Fund (the Fund). There were approximately 98,000 retail consumers invested in the Fund as at 23 December 2008.

Banking on the State

In the conclusion to their paper 'Banking on the State',and looking back to the last 800 years, Andrew Haldane and Piergiorgio Alessandri of the Bank of England,state:
For the majority of this period, the state was reliant on the deep pockets of the banks to finance periodic fiscal crises. But for at least the past century the pendulum has swung back, with the state often needing to dig deep to keep crisis-prone banks afloat. Events of the past two years have tested even the deep pockets of many states. In so doing, they have added momentum to the century-long pendulum swing. Reverting direction will not be easy. It is likely to require a financial sector reform effort every bit as radical as followed the Great Depression.

'20/20 VISION' - TWENTY LEADING FIGURES GIVE THEIR VIEWS ON THE FUTURE OF THE UK FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

On 20th anniversary of the CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey


The competitiveness of the UK's financial services sector is more likely to be undermined by the uncertainty surrounding future regulation of the industry, than by further aftershocks from the recent crisis. That is the view of leading industry figures featured in The Future of Financial Services, which is published today (Monday) to mark 20 years of the CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey.

£25.6bn employment bill risks job creation and recovery, argues British Chamber of Commerce

New research from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reveals that upcoming employment regulations and taxes will cost UK businesses a staggering £25.6 billion over the next four years, which could adversely impact on future job creation.

Treasury Commissioned Report on British Offshore Financial Centres published

The final report of Michael Foot’s Review of the opportunities and challenges facing the British Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey) and six Overseas Territories (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos Islands) was published on 29 October. The full text of the report is available online. Also published at the same time was Deloitte's report on tax avoidance by UK companies using these centres and the amount not being paid in tax. A combined report is also available.

New ASB report on annual reports

The Accounting Standards Board, part of the Financial Reporting Council, has published a report on the state of narrative reporting in annual reports. It focused on: how companies are complying with the enhanced business review content requirements from the Companies Act 2006 (CA); effective communication and presentation of the required content; and areas that are leading to clutter in narrative reporting. The full text of "Rising to the challenge" is available on the FRC website.

UK private businesses call for tax certainty

Private businesses want to see a more stable tax regime that will support and encourage growth according to The Enterprising UK 2009 survey published by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Head of UK private business at PwC, Mary Monfries, states " Private business is calling for a stable, certain tax environment in which to conduct their business successfully".

SFO settles Amec 'irregular receipts' case for £5m

The Serious Fraud Squad has agreed a civil court settlement of £4.9m with the engineering group Amec concerning $9m of 'irregular receipts' that the company took in relation to the construction of the Incheon Bridge in Korea.

Herald article on plan fo larger state role in bankruptcy cases

There was an article in the Herald newspaper on 26 October on reactions to the Scottish Government's proposals to part-nationalise the management of personal bankruptcy. ICAS is one of the organisations giving a response.

Report calls for new green taxes

A report published by the Green Fiscal Commisson on 26 October 2009 is calling for a green tax shift which would allow government to deliver economic as well as environmental benefits. Among the things that it calls for are a levy on new cars and an increase in fuel duties.

NAO report on the perception of red tape by business

A survey of businesses the National Audit Office (NAO) has been published which found that "almost no businesses think that complying with regulation has become easier or less time consuming in the last year. The majority think that things have remained the same and over a third think that the burden of regulation has got worse. On the other hand, 42 per cent of businesses think that government is getting the right balance of regulation to protect people and the environment." The full text of the report is available on the NAO website.

Reform public finance report published

Think tank Reform has published a report "The end of entitlement" looking at how the British middle class needs to decide between giving up welfare benefits or having tax increase by 8%. The full text of the report is available on Reform's website.

Results of the latest Deloitte quarterly survey of finance directors

A Deloitte survey of 120 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) found that financial optimism has reached the highest level since the Survey started in September 2007. However just 14% of CFOs expect a return to normal or trend rates of growth in their markets in 2010. CFOs believe the corporate sector is entering new era of lower gearing and greater financial conservatism.

CBI blueprint for balancing UK public sector budget

The CBI has released a report saying that radical public services reform is needed to deliver savings of £120bn. The full text of the report is available on the CBI website. It is called "Doing more with less: A credible strategy for restoring the public finances".

Government defeated in battle over Equitable Life’s collapse

After a ruling in the High Court issued by Lord Justice Carnwarth, thousands of policy holders of Equitable Life could now receive compensation from the Government. A four part report titled "A Decade of Regulatory Failure" published in 2008 by the Ombudsman, Ann Abrahams, found " serial maladministration" and recommended compensation be reached through an independent tribunal.

Equitable Life: a decade of regulatory failure (HC 815),

FSA outlines its approval and interview process for significant influence functions

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has written to the CEOs of 5,000 regulated firms to reinforce how its intensive regulatory approach applies to approving and supervising senior personnel performing significant influence functions (SIFs).
The City regulator said that under its new approach to supervision, it would not be happy to rush approvals in a couple of days, and would expect to take part in the short-list stage for large institution appointments.

Lloyd's slashes cash for Scottish charities

Lloyds Banking Group said it was to cut its charitable foundation's funding, worth at least six million pounds a year due to the financial crisis.
Sources at the foundation said that it was inevitable some charities would be forced to withdraw key services.

Impact of Bank easing ' may never be known

Charles Bean, the deputy governor of the central bank told the London Society of Chartered Accountants that the impact on the economy of the Bank of England's multi billion pound scheme of quantitative easing will probably never be known.
He also commented on the recession, saying that the British economy has probably hit bottom, despite fears at the beginning of the year that this recession would continue to deepen.