The European Commission likes playing hard ball. Back in 2009 it decided that a bloated RBS had to sell off its Williams & Glyn unit to meet European Union state aid demands. But after a seven-year hunt for a buyer, RBS abandoned the sale and instead proposed a £775 million fund to help strengthen its
There’s something really safe and reassuring about the saying ‘same old, same old’. And while we may live in volatile times, there’s no end in sight for our love of buying, or, in the case of most young Londoners, attempting to buy, property. A man’s home is quite clearly his castle, and mortgage brokers have
After an eerily quiet year, payday loans are back in the headlines. The speedy demise of Wonga has sent shockwaves through the industry, and rumours of which firms may be next are spreading like wildfire. So what brought the great bogeyman of the payday loans industry, which at one point boasted a fifty per cent
Barely a month goes by without a new banking firm popping up. And while some are interesting, and a few perhaps revolutionary, most have simply rolled out mortgage and savings products in an attempt to muscle in on the home turf of the UK’s building societies. Add to the mix a fast deteriorating High Street
It’s no secret that insurance premiums are rising. It’s also no secret that some insurance firms drive customers around the bend by trying to avoid paying claims. Too many won’t offer their best renewal price to existing customers, unless they’re prepared to call up and haggle. Oh, and then there are those sneaky admin fees
Scams are nothing new. From the Nigerian Prince who needs our help transferring money to the glut of fake goods sold as genuine articles, scams are here to stay. But forget the cheap Louis Vuitton knock-offs – the new battleground is UK savers. UK savers are perfect targets. They have money readily available (at times
It won’t shock you to read that bank branches are closing. They’re expensive to run, and fewer customers are using them. In fact just 11% of the UK population now prefers visiting a branch to carry out their banking business. But behind these simple facts is a rather grim reality. In the next few years,
Using fear to sell products is a powerful strategy. Unsurprisingly, many financial firms have come to rely on fear to fatten their bottom lines. But in 2017, there’s only one word to describe fear-based marketing: desperate. Firms selling pensions, investments, and financial products aimed at the over-50s, such as funeral plans, have traditionally been the
There’s never been a better time to borrow money. Mortgages pegged at 1.29 per cent, 2.7 per cent personal loans, and 29-month interest free balance transfer cards are no longer the stuff of our credit-filled dreams. But the cost of short-term loans has remained stubbornly high. We’re in the midst of a cheap credit bonanza,
Yesterday the UK financial regulator released complaints data for the second half of 2016. While this happens every six months, yesterday was meant to be different. This data was meant to arm consumers with information to make more informed decisions, and ultimately empower people to make the financial world better. Sadly, it turned out to be
Let’s face it, us Brits have a dirty habit. We’re obsessed with property. We own much more of it than our European cousins, and many of us have come to see owning a nice home as not just a sign of a successful life, but intrinsically linked to our self-worth. Thanks to TV shows like
When asked recently by a waiter if I was enjoying my pizza, I replied: ‘It’s great, thanks.’ But I was lying. It tasted no better than a £2 supermarket pizza, and I was further put off by a rather persistent fly hovering above the table. While we’re all good at moaning – a reassuringly British sign
Just over a year ago I believed that new challenger banks were on the edge of glory, about to kick off an era of better and fairer banking for everybody. In an article for ResPublica I wrote: ‘When real colour is injected into the financial services industry, consumers will be better served and ultimately empowered
The insurance industry is the boring uncle of the financial services family – a little drab and likely to be found in a basement listening to Daniel O’Donnell on a Saturday night. By contrast, banking conjures up colourful images of Wolf of Wall Street excess, which has helped to fuel a healthy dose of scrutiny. Being
