HMRC clawbacks disproportionately hit smaller firms
HM Revenue and Customs recovered a record £3.9 billion in extra VAT from compliance investigations into small businesses over the last year, marking a 10% increase on the previous 12 months.
Regulation & Compliance
Bank of Scotland faces charges for mishandling mortgages
The Bank of Scotland has been accused of criminal fraud for the questionable treatment of some customers who fell behind on their mortgages.
Credit Suisse considers shrinking brokerage business to reduce risk
Zurich-based financial services corporation Credit Suisse AG has turned its attention to the prime brokerage business as it looks for ways to reduce risk in its investment banking division.
Tax-dodging corporations under fire in autumn statement
George Osborne announced plans on Wednesday to target tax-dodging multinational corporations such as Google, Starbucks and Amazon.
Tesco reshuffle sees finance disentangled from PR
The latest attempt by Tesco to learn from the mistakes that led to its profit “black hole” is to take the long overdue step of reorganising its corporate structure.
IIFM releases sharia-friendly corporate finance templates
Multinational non-profit organisation the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) is developing template trade finance and corporate finance contracts to make it easier for financial institutions to process transactions without breaching sharia law.
It will take years to change “aggressive sales culture” of banking, says report
Damaging corporate cultures are so deeply ingrained in the finance industry that is unlikely to change until current bankers retire, is the implication of new research.
Wolters Kluwer releases “stress test” guidelines
The financial services firm Wolters Kluwer has published a white paper giving best practice guidelines on how financial institutions can boost their risk management efforts through stress testing.
Payday lender uses Indian Reservation as front for “criminal usury”
A clampdown on payday loan companies in the US has seen some companies adopt an elaborate ruse to escape interest-rate regulations, according to Bloomberg, with $4 billion worth of loans supplied by Native American tribes last year.
RBS apologises for misleading MPs over SME “forced closure” scandal
Royal Bank of Scotland today apologised for giving “incorrect” evidence to a committee of MPs, but forced the author of a report that had initially raised the concerns to close down accounts held for 20 years.
