Regulation

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has uncovered evidence of incompetency among investment advisers at a number of banks and building societies - resulting in unsuitable advice in some cases - following a mystery-shopping exercise.

The Law Society has welcomed calls for will-writing to be subject to regulation, but argues a failure to apply similar oversights to estate administration activities could harm consumers.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) is recommending that will-writing be subject to regulation after completing a two-year investigation during which it said it uncovered a "compelling case" for regulatory oversight of the industry.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is set to make clear that venture capital trusts (VCTs) and real estate investment trusts (REITs) will not be included in a forthcoming ban on the sale of unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) to most...

Stephen Hester, chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland(RBS), mounted a strong defence of his bonus package to MPs yesterday, despite mounting criticism of the bank's involvement in the LIBOR scandal under his watch.

Scottish Life has posted record new business results for the 12 months to 31 December, with total life and pensions business valued at £2.4bn.

A former Honister Partners adviser has pleaded guilty to evading tax in a case brought by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Firms are "cautiously optimistic" about the future, according to the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP), though some are still struggling to implement changes to their back office systems post-Retail Distribution Review (RDR).

An ex-Honister financial adviser charged with evading tax estimated at £730,000 is to appear at Worcester Crown Court next week.

CLEAN