MPs slam lack of diversity in venture capital market as just two per cent of funding goes to all-female founded businesses July 24, 2023 MPs have slammed the lack of diversity in the venture capital industry, demanding that the government take greater action to improve representation of women and ethnic minorities in the sector. In a new report, the influential Treasury select committee highlighted that just two per cent of venture capital funding in 2021 went to businesses with [...]
Bank bosses to discuss account closures with Treasury – reports July 23, 2023 Bosses of the UK’s major banks and financial firms have been called in for a meeting with City minister Andrew Griffith over the closing of bank accounts. According to a report from the BBC, the Treasury has drafted a letter to banks saying the issue of “client de-banking” had raised “significant concern” in parliament. Griffith [...]
HMRC recovers a ‘remarkable’ £34bn from investigations into tax evasion and avoidance July 23, 2023 Investigations into tax evasion and avoidance have yielded £34bn in extra tax revenue over the past year, according to HMRC’s annual report. Although the total this year was higher than the £30.8bn gained last year, it was still lower than the £36bn targeted by HMRC. Tax evasion, which is illegal, is when someone conceals information [...]
European banks forced to hand over more liquidity data to the ECB after SVB collapse July 23, 2023 European banks will have to provide regulators more frequent information on liquidity levels starting from September, a top supervisor said over the weekend. In an interview published on the European Centra Bank’s (ECB) website, Andrea Enria, chair of the ECB supervisory board, warned that European banks were still in a “delicate phase” due to the [...]
Banks in line for another round of bumper profit amid savings rate row July 23, 2023 The UK’s largest banks are set to report another round of bumper profits this week amid the furore over savings rates and growing concern about the health of the UK economy. Lloyds, Natwest and Barclays are expected to report another strong set of figures for the second quarter thanks to the impact of rising interest [...]
Number of fraud cases falls from pandemic highs but remains sky high at 3.5m July 20, 2023 Fraud levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels but remain sky high, according to estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). The CSEW estimated that there were 3.5m cases of fraud in the year to March. This was roughly equivalent to pre-pandemic levels, with the CSEW arguing the pandemic fraud spike was not [...]
IG Group announces £250m buyback after recording annual revenues of £1bn on the back of strong US performance July 20, 2023 IG Group upped its dividend and announced a new share buyback programme of £250m despite reporting a slight drop in pretax profit. In the year to May, profit at the trading firm dropped six per cent to £449.9m, down from £477m last year. It upped its dividend to 45.2p from 44.2p last year. The fall [...]
AJ Bell attracts over £1bn to bring assets under administration to ‘record high’ July 20, 2023 Retail investment platform AJ Bell saw an influx of funds which helped bring assets under administration to a record high, but inflows remained below the same period last year. In the three months to June, AJ Bell saw net inflows of £1.1bn into its platform model – which includes its direct-to-consumer platform and its advised [...]
Mid-market M&A remains resilient as UK market hopes for deal surge July 20, 2023 Mid-market deal activity in the UK has remained resilient despite a fall in the overall level of deals year-on-year, according to new data from Big Four firm PwC. In the first half of the year mid-market deals worth less than £1bn increased 1.8 per cent in the UK as smaller deals remained easier to finalise [...]
Banks to avoid surge in delinquency even as average interest rate on credit card hits highest level this millennium July 19, 2023 The average rate of interest on UK credit cards hit their highest level in nearly 30 years last month, but experts suggested there would not be a surge in delinquencies. According to Bank of England data, the average rate of interest on a credit card surpassed 23 per cent in June for the first time [...]
