Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.

Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksBarclays Share News (BARC)

Share Price Information for Barclays (BARC)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 202.35
Bid: 202.15
Ask: 202.25
Change: 1.35 (0.67%)
Spread: 0.10 (0.049%)
Open: 202.50
High: 203.40
Low: 199.58
Prev. Close: 201.00
BARC Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

New UK markets watchdog told to improve its game

Thu, 13th Jun 2013 20:23

By Huw Jones

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - Britain's new markets watchdoglacks clarity and must be bolder about protecting consumers hitby years of misleading sales tactics, two former toppolicymakers said on Thursday.

The financial crisis prompted Britain to scrap thedecade-old Financial Services Authority and replace it with the Financial Conduct Authority in April.

It supervises some of the world's biggest foreign exchange,stock, bond, commodities and derivatives markets.

FCA non-executive chairman John Griffith-Jones said in hismaiden speech that he was developing a "radar screen" to spotproblems earlier and stamp out bad behaviour such as Liborinterest rate rigging.

But Hector Sants, who headed the FSA until last year, andPaul Myners, financial services minister during the financialcrisis, said the FCA had its work cut out.

Myners said moves toward tougher supervision began under theFSA and that Griffith-Jones had made a safe speech that left hima little disappointed.

Britain's banks have so far paid out over 10 billion poundsin compensation for misleading consumers about loan insurance,the latest in a string of sales scandals spanning two decades.

Myners said many of the directors and non-executives atlenders that sold loan insurance were still in their jobs.

"I would have liked to have got a sense the FCA had a morechallenging position. I didn't really hear that," Myners toldthe event organised by CityUK, which promotes Britain as afinancial centre.

"I fear the FCA, like all regulators, runs the risk of beingcaptured by the regulator. I did not hear a radical agenda."

Sants, part-architect of Britain's new supervisory system,said there were several areas where "greater clarity" was neededto help restore public trust in financial services.

"We need to understand a bit more clearly what the FCA'srisk tolerance actually is," Sants said.

The FCA's approach to the wholesale market and the extent towhich consumers are responsible for what they buy were alsounclear, said Sants, who heads compliance at Barclays Plc.

"To reset the agenda between firms and consumers you have tobe bold," Sants added.

Etay Katz, a financial services lawyer at Allen & Overy,said there was a "waiting game" as banks sought clarity from theFCA on how they can develop new products.

"The trick is to look at the radar and capture the righttarget and not use a scattergun approach and create a lot ofcollateral damage along the way," Katz said.

Griffith-Jones, a former head of KPMG accountants in the UK,said it was early days and the FCA board and executives weredetermined to get it right.

"I think we have got off to a respectable start. Even if youhave doubts, give us the benefit of them," he added.

More News
20 Feb 2024 16:52

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: Pound boosted after BoE's Bailey talks rate cuts

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London closed lower on Tuesday, whilst the pound bounced back, after the Bank of England's Andrew Bailey talked interest rate cuts.

Read more
20 Feb 2024 15:29

London close: Stocks finish lower on fresh China concerns

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets closed in negative territory on Tuesday, with concerns over China's economic prospects exerting pressure on mining shares.

Read more
20 Feb 2024 11:57

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Banking stocks drag FTSE 100 into green

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were mixed at midday Tuesday, after a busy morning of corporate updates and earnings.

Read more
20 Feb 2024 11:20

London midday: Stocks mixed after China makes bigger rate cut

(Sharecast News) - London's stocks were in a mixed state at midday on Tuesday, as concerns around China's economic outlook continued to weigh on mining stocks.

Read more
20 Feb 2024 08:52

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks slide; banks rise as Barclays outperforms

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened in the red on Tuesday, as European markets failed to find upward momentum amid muted trading in Asia, and Monday's public holiday in the US.

Read more
20 Feb 2024 08:19

TOP NEWS: Barclays eyes GBP2 billion cost cuts and promises returns

(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC on Tuesday announced an efficiency drive, a new divisional reporting line-up and a plan to return GBP10 billion to shareholders over the next three years.

Read more
20 Feb 2024 07:47

LONDON BRIEFING: Barclays announces GBP1b buyback as 2023 profit falls

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called lower on Tuesday, following a US holiday, and a mixed performance in Asian markets.

Read more
20 Feb 2024 07:01

Barclays unveils massive overhaul as profits fall 6%

(Sharecast News) - Barclays Bank unveiled a swathe of changes on Tuesday, including a structural overhaul of operations, £2bn in cost cuts and a massive increase in shareholder payouts as annual earnings fell by 6%.

Read more
19 Feb 2024 16:10

Tuesday preview: China rate decision, Barclays in focus

(Sharecast News) - Investors' focus on Tuesday will be on the People's Bank of China's interest rate decision overnight.

Read more
18 Feb 2024 23:26

Sunday newspaper round-up: Currys, Barclays, Homebuilders

(Sharecast News) - China's JD.com has been looking at a possible acquisition offer for Currys. Just the day before the electricals retailer had rebuffed an approach by private equity. Exploratory talks between Currys and JD had been held over the preceding weeks. Additional bidders may appear. It was understood that Currys had been contacted by multiple private equity firms on an informal basis over recent months after it was forced to cut its dividend payout. It was but the latest example of a British business being taken out and for some showed that British businesses were being chronically undervalued. - Sunday Telegraph

Read more
16 Feb 2024 12:07

LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks up as UK retail sales soften GDP jitters

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London were up strongly at midday on Friday, buoyed by UK retail sales data that came in far better than expected and soothed worries about the economy after numbers on Thursday showed it entered recession last year.

Read more
16 Feb 2024 08:41

LONDON MARKET OPEN: Stocks climb amid UK retail sales surprise

(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Friday morning, after a sentiment-boosting UK retail sales reading which calmed some nerves about the economy.

Read more
15 Feb 2024 11:59

REPEAT: Barclays bids to buy SocGen's UK private bank - Reuters

(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC is considering bidding to buy the UK private bank of France's Societe Generale SA, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Read more
15 Feb 2024 10:37

PRESS: Barclays bids to buy SogGen's UK private bank - Reuters

(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC is considering bidding to buy the UK private bank of France's Societe Generale SA, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Read more
15 Feb 2024 07:24

Barclays eyes SocGen's UK private bank - report

(Sharecast News) - Barclays is considering bidding for Societe Generale's UK private bank, it was reported on Thursday.

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.