FSA Chief Gets Tough on the Square Mile
Hector Sants, the FSA chief executive has said that he is “determined to correct” the attitudes within the square mile that people were not afraid of the FSA.
Mr Sants, has warned that people in the square mile and the broader financial services industry should be frightened of FSA, indicating that the FSA will be introducing a more proactive and thorough approach to regulation of financial services. The new approach is likely to be more intrusive and direct.
Mr Sants, has indicated that compliance will move away from box ticking to a thorough approach to regulation that will involve a review of the outcomes of the actions that financial services firms take.
In a strong warning he mentioned that the FSA may use its wider powers of prosecution to deliver their mandate. In the current climate and with a government that needs to save face, and be seen to be doing something many financial services firms should begin to re-think how they approach compliance with the newer focus on accountability.
The additional checks and balances that have been pushed onto borrowers in terms of their personal finance by lenders, seem to be getting pushed on financial services firms by the FSA. This surely can be no bad thing in the long run for individuals and the economy as greater responsibility with ones personal finance, can only provide greater security for the individual and investors, lenders and financial services companies.
How do you feel about insuring Lloyds banking groups riskiest asset?
March 7, 2009 by admin
Filed under Featured, Popular Articles, banking
The BBC has just reported that the tax payer is going to take an even bigger stake in the Lloyds banking group. The treasury hopes that by insuring up to 260 billion pounds to protect the banks riskiest assets. That this will help increase confidence in an already shattered banking system. When we are all being asked to tighten up our own personal finance, we are then seeing tax revenues being ploughed into
The government is still desperately trying to avoid having to Nationalize the banks as this will cause it further embarrassment. But as the BBC report there are some which say that a full nationalization of the banks will do more to restore confidence then the government’s asset protection scheme.
Let us know what you think about chancellor’s latest announcement?
Five ways to save on Your Car Insurance
February 6, 2009 by LizaMathers
Filed under Popular Articles
There are certain days in the year which most people look forward to:birthdays, Christmas and anniversaries to name a few. But then there are also those days that you’d rather didn’t really exist. Needless to say, the day your car insurance quote needs renewing probably falls within the latter category. Read more
Mortgage approvals begin to rise slightly
February 2, 2009 by LizaMathers
Filed under Featured, News, mortgages
The number of new mortgages approved for home buyers increased slightly during December, according to the Bank of England.
There were 41,000 mortgage approvals, up from 37,000 in November, but still the second lowest figure on record. Read more
London property market crashes
January 7, 2009 by LizaMathers
Filed under Featured, News, mortgages
London house prices crashed by an average 14.5 per cent in the last 12 months the fall accelerated through “a year of turmoil” with a drop of 2.4 per cent last month alone.
The worst hit areas were City of Westminister which plunged 21 per cent. The borough of Waltham Forest 17 per cent. Other borough breakdown reveals how even the current depressed values are far higher than levels at the start of the economic boom times nearly a decade ago. Read more
Budgeting Personal Finances For the Future
January 2, 2009 by LizaMathers
Filed under Popular Articles
They help you to decide how to spend your money, plan for your future, pay off existing debt, and save a few pennies each month by reducing wasteful and impulsive purchases.
When you begin setting up a monthly budget, start with big categories before breaking down your budget into smaller expense categories. A good list of basic budget categories to begin with includes the following:
Housing: Mortgage/rent, repairs, property taxes, cleaning supplies, homeowner’s/renter’s insurance, utilities, furnishings, décor.
Food: Groceries, meals out, pizza delivery, snacks and beverages at work
Transportation: Car payments, insurance, gas, oil, parking, repairs/maintenance, public transportation fees
Medical: Insurance, out-of-pocket expenses such as deductibles and non-insurance-covered medical services, pharmacy, eye care, dental
Clothing: New purchases, dry cleaning, repair
Personal: Cosmetics, haircuts, cleansers
Insurance: Life insurance and any other insurance not covered under home, transportation, or medical expenses
Education: Tuition, dues/fees, school pictures, yearbooks, school supplies, books
Credit accounts: Payments on major credit cards, department store cards, lines of credit through your bank or other lender, or on any other outstanding debt
Gifts: Holidays, birthdays, graduations, weddings, showers
Recreation: holidays, movies, books, magazines, newspapers, cable TV, restaurants, sporting events, sports equipment
Savings: Long-term and short-term goals, as well as retirement
Donations: Charities, churches
Within each general budget category, note that some items are essential (the mortgage or rent payment, the electric bill, and groceries), but other items are extra (new furniture, gifts, and pizza delivery). From your first list of general budget items, develop two separate budget lists, one for essentials and the other for extras. (We can’t dictate what’s essential and what’s extra for other people, so we don’t divide up the lists for you.
Some people may have to eat out regularly because of work-related issues and so dining out is an essential item in their life rather than an extra. Others may consider charitable giving an extra, whereas their friends down the street consider it non-negotiable because of religious convictions.)
Extra and flexible budget items are the main places to focus your frugal living tactics. You’re always going to have to pay your water bill, but cable television may be an extra utility that can be done away with for awhile if money’s needed in a more-essential budget category.
You can’t control what you don’t know. Go through your checkbook and any other receipts or records you’ve kept over the past few months so that you can track how much you actually spend on essentials. Then for one month, keep a detailed diary of all your extra purchases, even for cheap things like newspapers or coffee from the vending machine at work.
Little expenses quickly add up to big money when they’re made on a daily basis, and these smaller, out-of-pocket purchases that are frequently made with cash usually won’t show up in your check register, so writing them all down helps make you aware of where the cash is dribbling out of your life.
After you’ve discovered exactly where your money goes throughout the month, you may need to re-evaluate your written budget lists if you find your actual spending differed from your anticipated spending.
Here, on our website, you will find accurate information on personal finance news including expert guides on how to make money, save money and look after your personal finance from seek4finance.co.uk.
The Art and Science of Saving
December 22, 2008 by LizaMathers
Filed under Featured, News, banking
For most of us, putting aside a fixed amount of perfectly good money each month is hard work, but the fact is you can save, even if it’s only a small amount.
No matter what your age, gender, race or professional status, you should think of saving as a fixed monthly expense, a regular part of your budget, just like your car or mortgage payments. As a rule, you should aim to save at least 5 to 10 per cent of your pay each month. Read more