General legal and regulatory

Bank of England will set back some Basel III reform rules

Sep 25, 2023: The Financial Times has today reported that the Bank of England will delay implementing the latest package of global post-crisis banking reforms for another six months, aligning its approach with the US. ...

Bank of England maintains interest rates at 5.25%

Sep 21, 2023: The Bank of England has chosen to hold the bank rate at 5.25%, after yesterday’s announcement that UK inflation had unexpectedly fallen in August. Today’s decision from the Bank of England ends a series of 14 successive increases in the cost of bo...

UK inflation unexpectedly slow to 6.7%

Sep 20, 2023: UK inflation unexpectedly fell in August, with falling hotel and air fare costs along with a slowdown in food price rises helping to offset a rise in fuel prices, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that Co...

FCA introduce new screening checks to approve financial adverts

Sep 12, 2023: To help people to make informed decisions to save, invest and borrow with confidence, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is introducing new screening checks for firms that approve financial adverts. Firms approving financial marketing for unreg...

UK Business Climate Hub to support SMEs to go green

Aug 16, 2023: The UK Government has launched a new sustainability hub to support Britain’s small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) to decarbonise. British businesses will be able to access new advice and support to reduce their energy bills and cut their carbo...

UK inflation slows to 6.8% thanks to falling energy prices

Aug 16, 2023: The latest UK monthly inflation estimates have been announced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 6.8% in the 12 months to July 2023, down from 7.9% in June. On a monthly basis, CPI fell by 0...

Bank of England raises UK interest rate to 5.25%

Aug 03, 2023: The Bank of England has today raised interest rates by a quarter of a point to 5.25% as it continues its battle against inflation, which remained high at 7.9% in June. The Bank’s move - the 14th successive increase in the cost of borrowing since D...

New Consumer Duty sets higher standards for financial services customers

Jul 31, 2023: Today, the long-heralded Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules, known as the Consumer Duty, have come into force for financial services firms that set higher and clearer standards of consumer protection in financial services. Firms must be able ...

June inflation rate lower than expected at 7.9%

Jul 19, 2023: The rate of the UK’s price rises has fallen from 8.7% in May to 7.9% in the 12 months to June, according to the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The UK’s annual inflation rate fell by more than expec...

MPs launch inquiry into the financing of SMEs

Jul 06, 2023: The Treasury Committee has launched a new inquiry into small business access to finance and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending. The cross-party Committee of MPs will examine the key challenges SMEs face when seeking finance, the regul...

Provisional agreement reached on the implementation of Basel III reforms

Jun 27, 2023: The EU is about to boost the resilience of banks operating in the Union and strengthen their supervision and risk management by finalising the implementation of the globally agreed Basel III regulatory reforms. Today, negotiators from the Council ...

Bank of England hikes UK interest rates to 5%

Jun 22, 2023: The Bank of England has today raised UK interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to 5 percent as it continues its battle against inflation, which remained high at 8.7% in April and May. The Bank’s move - the 13th successive rise in the cost of borr...

Shoosmiths host legal workshop at AFC Summer Conference

Jun 21, 2023: Against a backdrop of a changing landscape for financial services firms, understanding the legal and regulatory challenges within the asset finance sector is more important now than ever before. On June 13th, Shoosmiths hosted a Legal and Regulato...

UK economy returns to growth with 0.2% rise in GDP in April

Jun 14, 2023: Monthly real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 0.2% in April 2023. Following a 0.3% drop in March, UK GDP has bounced back with an increase of 0.2%, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). ...

Consumer Duty: what to expect post implementation deadline

May 31, 2023: Free to attend workshop – limited places available After the Consumer Duty comes into force on 31 July, the FCA have said they will act swiftly and assertively where it finds evidence of harm or risk of harm to consumers. This workshop will help b...

UK inflation falls to 8.7%

May 24, 2023: Inflation has finally dipped below double digits dropping by 1.4% to 8.7%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Despite easing back to its lowest level since March 2022, inflation has remained higher than expected as food prices ...

Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 4.5%

May 11, 2023: The Bank of England has today announced a base rate rise by 0.25 percentage points to 4.5 percent in a bid to curb rising inflation. The Bank’s move - the 12th successive rise in the cost of borrowing since December 2021 - lifts the base rate to i...

Is consumer understanding the keys to the kingdom of Consumer Duty?

Apr 20, 2023: We have just published the summary and analysis of the Asset Finance Connect conference session covering the consumer understanding outcome of the new Consumer Duty, which took place at our December conference with Helena Thernstrom, Clare Hughes, ...

Government launches consultation on ZEV Mandate

Mar 30, 2023: Following the technical consultation on the design of the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate for new cars and vans in June 2022 and the green paper on a new road vehicle CO2 regulatory framework in July 2021, the Government are now seeking views o...

UK Government updates green finance strategy

Mar 30, 2023: The Government has today published ‘Mobilising green investment: 2023 green finance strategy’, an update to the earlier 2019 strategy, intended to harness the UK’s world-leading financial services sector to support our climate and environmental obj...

Spring Budget: Full expensing, fuel duty freeze and ‘back to work’ initiatives

Mar 16, 2023: The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt presented his Spring Budget statement on 15th March. Full expensing: The Chancellor has announced a replacement for the Super Deduction, which was introduced in 2021, with the three-year ‘full expens...

Business optimism must remain the Chancellor’s priority

Mar 14, 2023: As the Chancellor prepares to deliver the 2023 Spring Statement, Ed Rimmer, Chief Executive Officer at Time Finance, shares his predictions for this year’s ‘mini budget’ and what businesses need to see from the Government to boost growth and produc...

SMEs are not confident that the Chancellor’s Spring Budget will deliver the support they need

Mar 13, 2023: Ahead of the Spring Budget, new data from SME funder Bibby Financial Services (BFS) reveals that small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have lost confidence in the Government’s commitment to support them. In a survey of 500 SMEs from across the U...

NACFB urges government intervention to reduce SME lending barriers

Mar 07, 2023: The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has called for the government to urgently intervene with two separate regulatory frameworks in a bid to prevent a reduction in SME lending. ...

NACFB reveals pre-Budget wish list to help SMEs

Mar 02, 2023: The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) has proposed a range of measures for consideration ahead of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s upcoming Spring Budget. Top of the wish list, created at the request of HM Treasury, is a call to in...

New Green Super-Deduction needed to help SMEs net zero transition

Feb 23, 2023: Eight leading trade associations - BVRLA, CECA, EAMA, FLA, Forum of Private Business, Logistics UK, Make UK and MTA - have written to the Chancellor recommending that a new Green Super-Deduction replaces the existing programme when it comes to an e...

New research from the FLA on the future of credit

Feb 20, 2023: The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has published a major piece of research, undertaken by Britainthinks, that asked what improvements customers would like to see made to consumer credit products, and indeed the market. ...

Consumer Duty: FCA continues to ramp up the pressure

Feb 17, 2023: Hot on the heels of a clear warning by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that too often, the mandatory Consumer Duty implementation plans were too light on the details required, the regulator has issued a portfolio of letters specific to each f...

FCA highlights areas of focus for firms implementing the Consumer Duty

Jan 26, 2023: With six months to go before the Consumer Duty comes into force, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a review of how firms are planning to implement the Duty. The FCA reviewed a sample of implementation plans and found that man...

The Edinburgh Reforms and the future of consumer credit

Dec 14, 2022: Jeremy Hunt’s speech on 9th December heralds the (delayed) arrival of the anticipated reform of consumer credit in the UK…and much more. But will the fanfare live up to the industry’s expectations? The financial services sector has faced unprecede...

Government publishes the reform of the Consumer Credit Act consultation

Dec 09, 2022: The government has today published the Reforming the Consumer Credit Act 1974 Consultation. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA) governs the regulation surrounding billions of credit card purchases, personal loans and consumer hire agreements made b...

European Commission clears ALD's acquisition of LeasePlan

Nov 28, 2022: The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of LeasePlan by ALD. The approval is conditional on full compliance with commitments offered by ALD. ...

Improvements needed to the credit information market to deliver better lending decisions for borrowers

Nov 22, 2022: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out proposals to improve the credit information sector so it can deliver higher quality and more comprehensive information for consumers and firms. Credit reference agencies (CRAs) build financial prof...

Consumer Duty workshop to discuss challenges in implementing the new FCA regulation at the Asset Finance Connect conference in London

Nov 21, 2022: Asset Finance Connect and Shoosmiths will be hosting a workshop focused on the implementation of the forthcoming Consumer Duty in a closed meeting at the AFC Conference on 5th December. Running alongside the main agenda, the workshop is aimed at l...

UK fiscal statement: Big tax rises amid poor economic outlook

Nov 21, 2022: The new UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt unveiled his annual fiscal statement on 17 November. There were few immediate surprises since the details had been widely trailed in advance; but the scale of the changes represents a huge U-turn f...

Chancellor’s Autumn Statement: "Missed opportunity" to reform outdated Consumer Credit Act

Nov 17, 2022: On 16th June 2022, the government announced plans to modernise consumer credit laws to cut costs for businesses and simplify rules for consumers. The UK government committed to reforming the Consumer Credit Act – which regulates all credit card pu...

Chancellor’s Autumn Statement: Benefit in Kind to remain stable for EVs until 2025

Nov 17, 2022: Tusker, provider of salary sacrifice car benefits schemes, welcomes the Chancellor’s decision to keep Benefit in Kind stable for EVs until 2025, allowing the ongoing adoption of EVs by the British public to continue. In offering stability and clar...

Sharp rise reported in the number of compulsory liquidations

Nov 15, 2022: The number of registered company insolvencies in October 2022 in England and Wales was 1,948, 32% higher than in October 2019 (1,477) and 38% higher than the number in October 2021 (1,410). The increase in company insolvencies compared to October ...

Stimulating consumer spending will be vital to shortening recession

Nov 15, 2022: Ahead of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement on 17th November, Ed Rimmer, Chief Executive Officer of Time Finance, is calling on the Government to take action to stimulate consumer spending in light of anticipated tax increases and spending cuts. ...

Cost-of-living crisis sees asset finance fraud cases soar

Nov 07, 2022: Fraudulent activity for asset finance products has seen a 162% increase, according to leading fraud prevention service Cifas. As a result of the cost-of-living crisis, the asset finance industry is facing significant challenges, with rising costs ...

Asset Finance Connect launch Consumer Duty workshop with Shoosmiths

Oct 14, 2022: Chief compliance officers and legal advisors of auto and equipment finance companies seeking to stay up-to-date with implementing the new Consumer Duty regulations can now collaborate with their peers to discuss the best ways to interpret and apply...

UK Mini-Budget: Tax cuts in dash for growth – but worries on interest rates

Sep 27, 2022: The UK’s new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng presented a “mini-Budget” statement on Friday 23 September. It represents a radical change in the fiscal policy stance following the recent change of Prime Minister and Chancellor. A number of...

Auto industry calls for longer-term certainty from Growth Plan

Sep 26, 2022: The automotive industry has given a cautious welcome to Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s Growth Plan, unveiled on Friday, but called for more detail and longer-term action to support the sector. As high energy users, vehicle manufacturers breathed a si...

FCA publishes Consumer Duty policy and guidance

Jul 27, 2022: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released its long-awaited policy statement and official guidance on plans to bring in a new Consumer Duty, aimed at making fundamental improvements to the way consumers are treated. It will set higher and c...

Consultation launched on overhauling Consumer Credit Act

Jun 23, 2022: The Treasury is to consult on major reforms to the Consumer Credit Act (CCA), described as “highly prescriptive and increasingly cumbersome and inflexible”, after admitting the current rules add unnecessary costs to businesses when implementing its...

Serious Fraud Office opens investigation into Arena TV

Feb 24, 2022: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced a criminal investigation into Arena Television Limited (Arena TV), which collapsed into insolvency last year, raising concerns about some £282 million of funds provided by asset finance lenders for equip...

UK Budget statement: Few new surprises, but several tax rises

Oct 31, 2021: The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak presented his Budget statement and spending review on 27 October. There have already been major announcements earlier this year of significant tax increases to take effect during the next two years. T...

FLA wants to see Green Finance Wholesale Guarantee in Budget

Oct 25, 2021: Ahead of the Budget on Wednesday, the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) is calling on the Chancellor to introduce a Green Finance Wholesale Guarantee to help ensure a supply of affordable funding for green assets in the consumer and business ...

Call for European Commission to act on vehicle data access legislation

Oct 08, 2021: The European Commission is coming under pressure to introduce ‘ambitious’ legislative proposals on vehicle data access, with a broad grouping of organisations including Leaseurope calling for action by Q1 2022. The current failure to agree common s...

Implications of Wood v Commercial First Business on brokers and lenders

Aug 13, 2021: Specialist law firm Auxillias has published a detailed report for brokers and lenders to provide some support to assess the ramifications of a key Court of Appeal ruling on undisclosed commissions. The report, produced in association with the Inte...

Legal and regulation - general