Despite EU agreement on its taxonomy for sustainable investment, it may not only prove to be ineffective in driving a green transition, but is potentially shrouded in legal uncertainty.

Bankers’ gold rush may signal fears over looming financial crisis
There is anecdotal evidence that investment bankers in the UK are piling into physical bullion for their personal portfolios due to fears over counterparty risk in the financial system, severe inflation and political uncertainty.

Research suggests SM&CR has degenerated into a ‘paper tiger’
The introduction of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR) back in 2016 struck fear into many bankers with its onerous requirements and penalties. However, recent research suggests that the conduct regime is almost toothless.

Firms brace for biggest overhaul in UK retail conduct rules in decades
The delayed consumer protection rules will have a very significant impact on firms serving the UK financial retail market by imposing increased accountability and compliance oversight obligations.

UK finance bill more a power grab than a Big Bang
The UK’s long-awaited finance bill was supposed to unshackle the City of London from ‘unnecessary’ red tape, much of it inherited from the EU, but in the end it left the financial services sector underwhelmed and disappointed.

Basel Committee seeks more consistency around bank climate actions
The Basel Committee’s paper on climate change might lack ambition by the standards of European initiatives, but it may nudge the rest of the world in the direction of sustainability, and thereby ensure a more level playing field globally.

FCA consumer duty rules may force some UK banks to review business models
Some retail banks potentially face having to review their business and pricing models as they will have to ensure they deliver fair value to consumers following the FCA finalising its consumer duty rules on July 27.

Crypto faces moment of reckoning
It turns out that crypto is not an independent parallel financial system after all and is closely tethered to the traditional financial system and its recent meltdown will see policy-makers double down on regulating the sector. By Justin Pugsley

Celsius blow-up highlights areas for improving crypto lending platforms
The volatile performance of cryptocurrencies has made significant headlines over the past year. This is hardly surprising given that bitcoin, easily the best-known crypto, has fallen by 70% in value since reaching its peak last November.

Policy-makers ponder tackling systemic debt vulnerabilities
Private sector debt ratcheted up during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now regulators want to figure out how this will hit countries facing a post-pandemic recession – and what policy-makers can do to ease the pain.