“Emails reveal FCA’s inaction over P2P lending abuse”

Jul 1, 2022 | Financial Services

The dilemma of free market vs nanny regulator is at the root of many financial scandals and scams. Personal pensions and the property boom in the Maggie’s era gave us mortgage endowments and the first pension transfer debacle in the ‘90s. The more recent pension freedoms led to yet another, headlined by British Steel debacle. Neil Woodford was supporting start-up businesses rather than investing in blue chips as assumed and no-one, especially the regulator, realised in time. Peer-to-Peer lending was encouraged as a way to get struggling businesses out of austerity. Which made it the latest financial Wild West, a mantle now assumed by CryptoCurrencies. Will it all still be happening in thirty years time. Of course it will.

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“Simon Evan-Cook: FCA must wake up to consolidation damage”

“Simon Evan-Cook: FCA must wake up to consolidation damage”

This is where I can don my ‘been around the block, seen it all before’ mantle. What’s happening in our business/industry/profession at the moment is a lot of what’s become known as consolidation, big companies, many fuelled by private equity, buying up smaller firms or taking over the clients of retiring advisers.