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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out a plan to "rewire" the UK's financial services system, saying that deregulation outlined in her Leeds Reforms will make the UK the number one destination for financial services businesses by 2035. The Chancellor confirmed that the ring-fencing regime, which separates a lenders’ retail and investment activities, will be reformed. The plans will see City Minister Emma Reynolds lead a review into how changes "can strike the right balance between growth and stability, including protecting consumer deposits." The reforms also include an overhaul of the Financial Services Ombudsman that will see it "returned to its original purpose as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service." Speaking at the annual Mansion House event in the City of London, Reeves said: "In too many areas, regulation still acts as a boot on the neck of businesses . . . Choking off the enterprise and innovation that is the lifeblood of growth." Writing in the Financial Times, Reeves said an excessive safety-first approach was not seen in any of Britain’s global competitors.

 

BBC News

Financial Times

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

The 2025 Summer Risk and Compliance Report

Each quarter, Hyperproof takes a deep dive into market trends in the GRC space. A new report just released that compares their data against reports from Accenture, BDO, PWC, and more so that security pros have the best data available to finish the year strong. 

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The Irish state agency that manages debt and the sovereign wealth fund is to review security protocols after losing €5m ($5.9m) in a scam. The phishing attack at Ireland's National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) was discovered last week after staff at the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), a sovereign development fund that the debt office also manages, voiced concern about a payment made to what they thought was an investee company. NTMA Chief Executive Frank O'Connor explained that it was found that a fraudulent payment request from a third party, designed to look like a legitimate request from the existing investee company, had been received at the time of an expected drawdown of funds.

 

Reuters

The Bank of England has set out a series of reforms designed to ease the regulatory burden on smaller and mid-sized banks, including adjustments to capital requirements and a one-year delay to key parts of the Basel 3.1 reforms. The Bank also announced that the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will issue a discussion paper to outline how to reduce the barriers for mid-sized banks to compete in the mortgage market. The Bank said it plans to deliver a "strong and simple framework" that offers a streamlined regulatory regime for banks and building societies. Sam Woods, chief executive of the PRA, said the changes will "bring in a simpler regime for smaller banks, make it easier for mid-sized banks to scale up in the mortgage market, and allow an extra year for part of the implementation of new investment banking rules."

 

City AM

The Competition and Markets Authority has approved SLB's $8bn acquisition of ChampionX after accepting commitments to alleviate competition concerns. The deal allows SLB, the world's largest oilfield services provider, to enhance its production systems unit and expand its capabilities in chemicals and automation for oil extraction.

 

Reuters

Bruna Szego, chair of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority, Europe’s new anti-money laundering watchdog, has said the crypto market is “significantly exposed to money laundering and terrorism financing risks.”

 

Financial Times

Under plans designed to boost economic growth, the UK Treasury will look to encourage savers with cash in low-interest accounts to invest their money in stocks and shares instead. Officials said there would be a "review of risk warnings on investment products to make sure they help people to accurately judge risk levels." The plan will include an advertising campaign to encourage more people into retail investing, with Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, AJ Bell, Schroders, St James’s Place and Interactive Investor all backing the drive. Michael Summersgill, CEO of AJ Bell, said: "Kickstarting an investing revolution could boost household finances and UK capital markets in the process," adding: "Removing friction between cash and investment accounts would create a more flexible system, lifting the psychological barrier between saving and the stock market."

 

BBC News

City AM

The Independent

Aircraft, machinery, cars, chemicals and medical devices are the leading big-ticket items on the latest list of US goods the European Commission has proposed to impose tariffs on if talks with Washington do not yield an agreement on trade. The package is designed to respond to US tariffs on cars and car parts and a baseline tariff, currently at 10%; it also includes electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products worth a total of €6.35bn ($7.42bn). The European Union’s approach to US tariffs is getting renewed attention this week after President Donald Trump sent a letter to the bloc threatening to impose 30% blanket tariffs on European imports beginning August 1st.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

The UK government has abandoned its plan to establish a green taxonomy aimed at standardising carbon emissions calculations, which was intended to combat exaggerated environmental claims by companies and investment funds. The Treasury said: "After careful consideration of the responses . . . the government has concluded that a UK taxonomy would not be the most effective tool to deliver the green transition." Instead, it has prioritised other policies to enhance investment towards achieving net zero and curbing greenwashing.

 

The Times

The Ministry of Defence has come under fire for using a superinjunction to conceal a data breach that endangered around 100,000 Afghans who supported British forces from Taliban reprisals. The superinjunction prevented not only the reporting of the breach but also the existence of the injunction itself. The injunction was initially set for four months but was proactively extended by the court. It was lifted recently after Defence Secretary John Healey deemed it unnecessary following a policy review. The MoD's actions have raised concerns about accountability and transparency, particularly regarding decisions that could impact the safety of individuals. Around 24,000 Afghans affected by the breach have either been brought to the UK already or will be in future as part of the biggest covert evacuation operation in peacetime. Adnan Malik, head of data protection at Barings Law, said: "This is an incredibly serious data breach, which the Ministry of Defence has repeatedly tried to hide from the British public."

 

Sky News

The Times

The Independent

Two of Facebook parent company Meta’s best known executives, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, are listed as witnesses in a scheduled eight-day non-jury trial starting today in Delaware and centred on investor allegations of board mismanagement. Shareholders of Meta Platforms sued Zuckerberg and other current and former company leaders, claiming they continually violated a 2012 agreement between Facebook and the Federal Trade Commission to protect users' data. Zuckerberg is accused of operating Facebook as an illegal enterprise that allowed users' data to be harvested without their consent. Zuckerberg and the other defendants have dismissed the allegations in court filings as "extreme claims."

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 85 individuals, including employees from two private banks and a fintech company, amid a money laundering investigation led by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The probe focuses on allegations of organised crime, usury, and violations of banking regulations, with a total transaction volume exceeding TL 47.5bn ($1.18bn) identified between 2022 and 2024. The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) reported that suspicious transactions were processed through 312 POS terminals linked to 21 companies, primarily using foreign credit cards. Denizbank, Şekerbank, and Ozan Elektronik Para are implicated, with authorities claiming the POS infrastructure was misused to simulate legitimate business activities. Denizbank is also dealing with fallout from an alleged Ponzi scheme involving high-profile football players; former CEO Hakan Ateş stepped down earlier this year.

 

Daily Sabah

In her Mansion House speech, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the launch of a new captive insurance framework in the UK, a move that has prompted Aon to establish its own UK-based captive management company. Captive insurance allows companies to self-insure, and while several UK firms currently operate captives abroad, the new framework aims to attract them back home. The government’s initiative follows a consultation that closed in February, with plans to create a competitive environment for captive insurance in the UK. Ciaran Healy, global captives leader at Aon, emphasised the UK’s potential, saying: "The UK has the expertise, reputation and drive for innovation that will ensure success."

 

City AM

Insurers are increasingly turning to catastrophe bonds to mitigate the growing risks associated with climate change, with issuance reaching a record $18.1bn this year, surpassing the previous high of $17.7bn in 2024.

 

Financial Times

Thames Water chief executive Chris Weston has told MPs on the Environment Committee that it could take a decade to turn the company around, warning that the firm is "extremely stressed and operating in very difficult circumstances." Thames has reported a loss of £1.65bn for the year to March, while its debt pile has risen to £16.8bn. This marks a sharp decline on the £157m profit seen a year earlier and comes despite an 8.7% rise in turnover, which hit £2.7bn. The £1.6bn loss includes a £1.27bn provision against a loan from its parent company and £122m in fines from regulators. Suggesting that it may be unable to avoid temporary nationalisation, Thames' annual accounts say it faces "material uncertainty" over whether it can complete a "recapitalisation transaction."

 

Sky News

BBC News

Financial Times

The Guardian

The Bank of England will overhaul the outdated retail payments system, aiming to enhance innovation and competition while addressing global economic imbalances, Governor Andrew Bailey has announced.

 

Financial Times

UK tax authority HMRC has faced criticism from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for its inability to track tax contributions made by billionaires in the UK. A report from the committee highlighted "significant opportunities to collect more revenue," warning that the lack of clarity could undermine public confidence. Despite improvements in revenue collection from wealthy individuals, the PAC expressed disappointment that HMRC could not effectively utilise available data to identify billionaires, noting the potential tax revenue impact from this group. HMRC defines wealthy individuals as those with incomes of £200,000 or more, or assets equal to or above £2m, in any of the past three years. The PAC said because a billionaire has wealth and assets 500 times greater than this level, the potential impact of the tax revenues generated is huge.

 

The Guardian

Plans by the UK government to crack down on zero-hour contracts in the workplace have suffered a setback in the House of Lords. Peers backed by 264 votes to 158 a measure to change the legal requirement for an employer to offer guaranteed hours to an employee’s right to request the arrangement, and they supported by 267 votes to 153 a move to exempt employers from having to make a payment to a worker if a shift was cancelled with at least 48 hours’ notice. Explaining his alternative to the proposed zero-hours provision, Liberal Democrat Lord Goddard of Stockport, said: “The amendment changes legislation from an obligation to offer guaranteed hours to a right to request them . . . Furthermore, it maintains that when a such request is made, the employer must grant it.” Opposing the move, Labour peer Baroness Carberry of Muswell Hill, a former assistant general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, warned: “This formulation of the amendment leaves open the path to some of those worst employers to make sure that they don’t end up offering guaranteed hours to workers on zero-hours contracts.”

 

Daily Mail

The Independent

Financial Conduct Authority staff are threatening industrial action if they are told to be in the office more than the current rule of at least 40% of their working days each month.

 

Financial Times