Credit Management September 2019

Open banking 'transformational'
for UK PLC
OPEN Banking could realise £18 billion
in value for British people and small
businesses over the course of a year, claims
an independent report, but only if the
industry, government and regulators act to
ensure the project realises its potential.
Put together by the Open Banking
Implementation Entity's (OBIE)
independent consumer and small business
representatives, the report argues that Open
Banking can usher in an era of more tailored
and better value financial services.
People could gain £12 billion a year
through the project, with businesses
realising a further £6 billion in value.
Overstretched people could save as much
as £287 per year, 2.5 percent of their annual
income.
Many of the most valuable Open Bankingenabled
propositions are not yet available to
consumers and there are a range of barriers
Anti-laundering
THE Insolvency Practitioners Association
(IPA), has published its first formal strategy
to deal with the requirements placed on
the IPA as a Professional Body Supervisor
(PBS) under the 2017 Money Laundering
Regulation (MLR17). The strategy builds on
policies already published by the IPA on
conflicts, complaints and whistleblowing.
The strategy also adds to the IPA’s support
of the Government’s ‘Flag-It Up’ campaign
and involves liaising with other supervisory
bodies to enhance and support adherence to
the requirements of MLR17.
insolvency-practitioners.org.uk
LEX Jones has been appointed as the
new Chief Executive of Registry Trust.
Lex becomes the fourth CEO in the
Trust’s history, following Paul Mudge who
established it, Jon Hale whose 20-year
tenure defined the company, and Nick
Rossiter who retired earlier in the year on
health grounds. Lex joined Registry Trust
from the Financial Ombudsman Service
in 2017 having taken a degree at Liverpool
and enjoyed a successful early career
Registered interest
which prevent these services coming to
market today, the report goes on to say.
The report, which has been welcomed
by the OBIE, makes recommendation to
deliver greater value for consumers, build a
trustworthy ecosystem, and stimulate the
market to action quicker. Central to all of
this is co-ordinated action by government
and regulators to create a more holistic
regulatory regime for data sharing.
Mark Chidley, independent SME
representative, says Open Banking-enabled
products can take the drudgery and
guesswork out of running a business: “It
can also help the UK’s small businesses get
better deals, make their money work harder
and access the banking products they need
more effectively. The effect on UK plc could
be transformational.”
See our Open Banking article on page 54.
openbanking.org.uk
Gold rush
SIMPLY recently provided a £323,000
funding facility to Scotgold Resources,
the gold exploration and development
company that owns the Cononish mine in
Scotland, enabling it to buy crucial plant
equipment to extract increasing amounts
of gold and extend its reach. Cononish,
based near Tyndrum in the Scottish
Highlands, is the first commercial gold
mine in Scotland. It produced gold for the
first time in August 2016 and now aims to
extract more than half a million tonnes of
ore over the next ten years.
simply.finance
in retail banking.
The Trust’s Founding Chairman Malcolm
Hurlston CBE, who will be succeeded in the
chair in September by Mick McAteer, says
the Registry Trust carries out a role of huge
importance on behalf of the government:
“Its accurate register of court judgment
information is the most important single
factor in ensuring that credit reaches the
right hands.”
registry-trust.org.uk
>NEWS
IN BRIEF
TECHNICAL MATTERS
THE CICM Technical Committee met
recently to discuss a number of issues,
including: The FCA’s final rules to
reform the overdraft market and the
consultation seeing views on the reforms;
The Justice Committee report ‘Bailiffs:
Enforcement of Debt’ and the evidence
and recommendations within it; new
requirements for authenticating online
payments as part of the second Payment
Services Directive from September 2019.
Also on the agenda was BEIS’ response to
its Creating a Responsible Payment Culture
Call for Evidence; The Companies House
Transformation Programme and proposals
as laid out in the recently published BEIS
consultation; and CICM responses to
recent consultations including Civil Rule
Procedure Committee: Enforcement of
possession orders, HMRC: Protecting your
taxes in Insolvency , Payment Systems
Operator: Confirmation of payee and HM
Treasury: Transposition of the 5th Money
Laundering Directive.
HMRC hubs
THE relocation of HM Revenue and
Customs into 13 hubs around the country
will see the department move into what
it claims are ‘some of the most digitally
advanced buildings in government’. The
move into 13 regional hubs in Belfast,
Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle
upon Tyne, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds,
Nottingham, Birmingham, Bristol, and two
in London, is intended to deliver savings of
£300 million by 2025.
gov.uk/government/organisations/hmrevenue-customs
Boozers bounce back
A total of 235 pubs have disappeared from
communities in Britain in the first half
of 2019, according to the latest research
by real estate data company Altus Group.
This equates to an average of 40 pubs
a month closing their doors. Alarming
though the news is, the rate at which they
are vanishing slowed down on the back
of recent government support, including
a recent freeze on alcohol duty. Pubs
have come under enormous pressure
due to rising costs, including businesses
rates which have had a devastating
effect, cheaper supermarket alcohol and
changing leisure habits, and an increase
in the minimum wage.
altusgroup.com/home-uk
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / September 2019 / PAGE 7