FSA to crack down on insurers and banks - papers 27 Sept

Sir Callum McCarthy, chairman of the FSA, told an audience of City professionals last night the regulator was prepared to work on a "transatlantic basis" to ensure such "operational issues are kept under control".

He delivered his Mansion House speech the day before representatives of the FSA meet regulators from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and 14 major players in the credit derivatives market who have been ordered to improve the paper trail for their complex deals.

The regulators have been concerned the 40 or so days it was taking to confirm trades in this fast-growing market could lead to confusion about where the risks in the financial system lay, says the paper.

THE UK is responsible for a third of all unsecured consumer debt in western Europe, reports the Financial Times.

The consumer credit market hit €314bn in 2005 but is reaching saturation point and UK banks should look overseas for expansion opportunities, said a study from Datamonitor.

While the average western European consumer has €2,278 (£1,528) of unsecured debt, the average UK consumer has €4,642.

The study says the UK consumer credit market has grown at 2.7% a year for the past five years, while western Europe has grown at 8.3% per year, showing there are opportunities for lenders outside the UK.

LLOYD’S OF London saw profits dip 2% in the first half on lower investment income, but said it expected to insure more business next year, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Lloyd's reported a pre-tax profit of £1.35bn in the six months to 30 June, compared with £1.38bn the year before.

It said the results were "broadly similar to that of last year, underpinning the market's consistency with a 20% improvement in underwriting profit offset by a smaller contribution from investment income”.

THE JAPANESE investment bank Nomura is being sued for £3m by another former employee who claims his annual bonus was a fraction of what was owed, reports the Independent.

The claim by Piero Burragato, who ran Nomura's Italian equity sales business in London until the end of July, is the third in as many weeks by former members of the bank's staff.

More are thought likely since an exodus of Nomura's senior staff in London over the summer.

If you have any comments you would like to add to this story or would like to speak to its author about a similar subject, telephone Emily Perryman on 020 7968 4554 or email [email protected].

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