Our Weekly Newsletter
Across Instinctif Partners’ Financial Services team, we are always keeping an eye on the key developments taking place across the sector to evaluate their impact on the many businesses we work with. Here we share our picks of the week’s most interesting news, and our expert views.
Nationwide: Riskiest payments should be slowed to stop fraud
The clearance of payments considered to be risky should be slowed down to tackle increasing cases of fraud, according to Nationwide’s economic crime director Stuart Skinner. Creating more friction in the UK payments system would require an overhaul of its structure as the system is currently designed for customer convenience. Nationwide recently launched a new fraud checking hotline after reporting that total fraud losses were up 30% in the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 2020. (From BBC News, 27th September 2021)
Interest rate rise in 2022 becoming more likely, says BoE
The inflationary pressures building in the UK have made a rise in interest rates next year more likely, according to Andrew Bailey. Against a backdrop of rising fuel prices and the prospect of higher transport costs pushing up the price of food in the run-up to Christmas, the Bank of England’s governor said there were signs that inflation could be sustained and the central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) may need to increase borrowing costs in 2022. (From The Guardian, 27th September 2021)
UK fuel crisis threatens to hit health services and industry
UK medical workers and transport companies have warned that the fuel crisis threatens major disruption to essential services and industry, requesting priority access to petrol and diesel following panic buying. The British Medical Association said the fuel crisis meant healthcare staff reliant on cars risked being cut off from work, while taxi and courier companies said the acute shortage of petrol and diesel posed significant disruption. The scale of the crisis, with the majority of the UK’s 8,000 petrol stations drained of fuel, prompted the government to put the military on standby to help with deliveries. (From Financial Times, 27th September 2021)
October threatens money misery
Many Britons are set to face the biggest squeeze on their finances in years next month as the Government cuts support introduced at the start of the pandemic, while bills and household costs climb. October marks the end of the furlough scheme, the £20 a week universal credit uplift, Stamp Duty holiday and the VAT break for businesses. Meanwhile, the energy price cap coming in on October 1st is going to push energy bills up by £140 on average, just as the supply chain crisis is sending food prices higher. (From Daily Mail, 28th September)
ESG pushing investors towards factor investing, says Invesco
Investors are increasingly using factor investing to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) into their portfolios. Investors believe different investment approaches vary in their compatibility with ESG, Invesco’s sixth annual global factor investing study has revealed. The report also found more active approaches are favoured over passive. (From Money Marketing, 27th September)