The issue of debt, and more specifically personal debt, has been a consistent focus here in Financial Regulation Matters , with the most recent post reporting on the fears that the personal debt crisis was set to deepen . Whilst we know that this crisis, and the ‘age of austerity’ go hand in hand, there are, of course, a number of competing elements that are fuelling the current debt crisis. In today’s post, the focus will be on the latest fears regarding the crisis, but also on calls by an influential Labour MP who is calling now for the credit card companies to come under increased scrutiny after successfully campaigning against payday lenders like Wonga. Rather than general debt figures being the focus this week in the media, the focus instead focuses upon credit card debt specifically. This is on the back of official figures that note that, over the last few months, the rate of credit card debt has risen to a 12-year high . The reported rise was over 8% for the last year , w...

Naturally, the issue of Executive Pay has been a consistent focus for Financial Regulation Matters , with a number of posts discussing the elements that make up such a complex issue. News recently from the automotive/technology industries concerning Elon Musk has brought the issue to the fore once more, and in this post the focus will be on the record-setting pay-deal that was recently announced by Tesla, and then what may be the effects of this for the wider issue of executive pay across the financial sectors. Yesterday, the headlines where Musk was concerned were almost writing themselves, with The Guardian ’s ‘ Elon Musk wins approval for “staggering” pay deal with potential $55bn bonus ’ headline perhaps being representative of the response to the news from Tesla. However, the deal is a complex one with a number of conditions attached, which result in the reality of the situation being somewhat different. Essentially, Tesla has decided to grant its Billionaire founder a $2....

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), one of Britain’s primary financial regulators, has featured heavily within Financial Regulation Matters , for obvious reasons. However, a lot of the recent posts focusing on the regulator have been concerned with its approach to the unfolding scandal at RBS, with its role in the publication of a damning report drawing attention most recently. However, recently there have been suggestions that the regulator has ‘ gone soft ’ in its approach to the regulated, with the RBS debacle being cited as the most compelling evidence for the regulator’s approach. In this post, these accusations will be assessed against the evidence, with a larger question being asked with regards to both the role of the regulator in the larger picture, and its willingness to take action. The decision by the FCA to commission, and then refuse to release a damning report into the operations of RBS and its treatment of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), has caused outra...

In Financial Regulation Matters , we have looked on a few occasions at the issue of gender in relation to the world of business ( here , here , and here ) and to a lesser extent the issue of race ( here ). However, in today’s post we will be examining recent developments coming from the Institute of Directors (IoD) that bring both of these issues sharply into the limelight. After gaining a better understanding of the IoD and what its role is, the two issues will be examined to gain a better understanding of the problem facing the business arena, all for the aim of providing context to the revelations that are making the headlines at the moment. The Institute of Directors was founded in 1903 and, after just three years, was awarded a Royal Charter for the purposes of supporting, representing, and setting standards for business leaders across the country . The Royal Charter was the basis of the IoD establishing and implementing four key ‘principals’ , which include: (Better Direc...

Over the past few weeks, a number of the country’s leading casual restaurants have found themselves in financial difficulties, with a number collapsing altogether. With news recently that nearly 35 of the top 100 British restaurant groups are operating at a loss , this post will look at some of the reasons why this may be and the potential effect of such a damaging phase for a sector that employs so many people in the U.K. However, on the back of that review, the question will be raised as to what legal options are available to these companies as they suffer financial difficulties, and also whether they may be effective in allowing the sector to survive the current crisis. The leading story in this particular field is that of the troubles being experienced by celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver. Oliver, and his Jamie’s Italian group have hit the headlines more than most in recent months, with stories revolving around the development that Oliver had to pump in £3 million of his own mone...

As is usually the case in this particular arena, business stories are continually developing and usually at a rate of knots. Therefore, today’s post catches us up with a few stories that we have looked at previously; all of these stories selected today were always going to be end up in a negative, and today’s updates confirm that with news that the Carillion collapse was not what it first seemed (predictably), that Sir Philip Green is continuing his war of words with British Politicians (and one in particular), and that the retailer Toys ‘R’ Us failed in its attempt to save itself. The Carillion Collapse Reveals Predictable Skeletons We have looked at the issue of Carillion on a number of occasions, ranging from the onset of the crisis to the collapse and subsequent call for the Pensions Regulator to much more in clawing-back some of the pension fund that was depleted by the company . Rather predictably on the back of such a large and interconnected collapse, the post-Caril...