News

From April 1st 2016 anyone buying buy-to-let property in the UK will have to pay an additional 3% stamp duty on top of  the current standard rate. Where previously the higher rate started on properties over £125000 (2%), the new charge will apply to all purchases of buy-to-let or second homes over £40000. Profit margins…

Relying on in-house recruitment seems like the simplest, easiest, cheapest option for finding a new hire. But what if you don’t get the perfect candidate? What if your recruitment process relies on busy, non-dedicated staff trying to find time in their work day to do a quick search followed by a brief interview? What if…

In 2014, $12.2 billion was invested in FinTech companies worldwide. That’s triple the 2013 figure of $4.05 billion, and Money 2020 have predicted that the number may rise to over $20 billion this year. Many people are speculating that FinTech companies are being wildly overvalued and suggesting that we could be headed towards an easily…

Your phone tells your house that you’re on the way home, the house raises the heating to the exact temperature you like. Your front door tells your speakers to hit your After Work Ambient Relaxation playlist just as it opens, and as the blinds come down they tell the lights to brighten up the living…

By now, you’ve definitely heard the words “Solvency II”. You’ve seen the phrase all over business news websites and your social media feeds – you know it’s a very big deal. You’ve been told it’s arguably the biggest change to insurance regulations in 30+ years. But do you know what it actually is? Solvency II…

For a long time recruiters have been prone to cleanly dividing the world into people who are hunting for a new job because they’re either out of work or dissatisfied with a current position, and people who are doing just fine in a great job and won’t know that they have other options until we…

2015 may well be remembered as the year that retail banking finally began to fully embrace the possibilities of modern mobile technology.  At this point the idea of a bank existing as something other than a network of branches is well established in the mind of the public – it took the long route through…

The dreaded Section 166 is one of the most feared tools the FCA have at their disposal to try to correct financial organisations that they believe have gone awry. But what does it actually mean and what should you do if your company receives one? The 166 is the part of the Financial Services and…

Mortgage rates have been consistently falling for some time and are now at their lowest level since 2007, when the Bank of England first started tracking them. Gross advances rose by over 15% to £52.5 billion in the second quarter of this year and at the same time, new commitments increased to £59.3 billion. So…

2015 has been another year of expansion and change for regulations effecting Financial Institutions of all sizes. Gone are the days where a one size fits all approach to risk could be maintained for an organisation to be seen as compliant – it is no longer something that can be handled by the Finance Director…