Jane Galvin

Our Chief Economist @Sebastianburnside delves into the insights from our latest Regional PMI Report to discuss economic growth trends, cost pressures and business output across all nations and regions of the UK. https://lnkd.in/e2HMr8bu

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Encountering resistance to change......... 🚦 ⛔ Read our report and see how you can navigate the pathway to success and innovation. 🚀 SaaScada - #bethedifference #makethechange #innovation #datadrivencore

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A positive response from CBI (Confederation of British Industry) to the initial speech from the new UK government & the vision for economic growth. Hopefully this is the beginning of restoring confidence in key industries & markets such as housing & broader construction #economicpolicy #growth #investment #housebuilding #construction

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Good to see that the Bank of England is setting up a Cost Benefit Analysis Panel. This should provide more rigor and oversight to the CBA process ahead of publishing CPs to ensure that the proposals meet the FSMA test that rules should be proportionate to the benefits. https://lnkd.in/e8KinUqv

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Over the past three years, Consumer Duty has been a major focus in the financial services sector, aiming to transform the culture from top to bottom. However, it’s crucial that we ensure established practices remain strong and that we all continue to uphold high standards. Take, for example, the gentleman I observed on a train last week. Despite holding a senior position in his company, he was working on a presentation without a screen protector on his laptop. His presentation included sensitive information such as P&L, year-to-date sales with margins, prospects, pipeline history, marketing indicators, and headcount. This highlights the importance of maintaining security and professionalism at all times. #risk #consumerduty #vulnerability #financialservices #afm #bsa

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Starling Bank Group Achieves Third Year of Profitability John Mountain, Interim CEO of Starling Bank, said: “This is our third full year of profitability demonstrating a robust financial performance. It was a breakthrough year for Starling as we became a global provider of banking Software as a Service through our subsidiary Engine by Starling. We’ve heavily invested in Engine because we’re confident it can one day become as big as the UK bank, or bigger.” https://lnkd.in/eEMDEn_n David Sproul Raman Bhatia Engine by Starling #fintech #finance #banking #paytech #payments #fintechnews #paymentsnews

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We have been busy in Retail and Wholesale this year supporting our clients with their plans – these are just a few of the more recent examples. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can support your business. #BigPictureBanking

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Mid-market corporates (MCCs) play a significant role across the East of England jobs market, employing nearly a quarter of the workforce. And with the right support and investment, they have the potential and capabilities to have an even greater impact on the region. These companies, typically turning over between £25m-£500m, are the critical backbone of our economy. Today, we’ve launched our latest report, aimed at championing MMCs and understanding their vital economic contributions as the critical middle. The insights from the report are compelling. With the correct support, MMCs could achieve turnover growth of £115bn and contribute an additional £35bn Gross Value add to the UK’s economy by 2030. Learn more about their potential in our latest report ‘The Critical Middle’: https://lnkd.in/ey6BUCyD #TheCriticalMiddle @NatWest Business, @NatWest Commercial and Institutional, @NatWest Group 

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With a Labour government entering No.10 with a significant majority, we analyse the new government's manifesto and how its finance-related pledges could impact you: https://lnkd.in/ezTEgkjT

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Financial Conduct Authority is calling on industry to identify rules which could be removed or simplified if they overlap with the Consumer Duty.  This is great news. It's something we at Innovate Finance have been calling for since 2021 - when we said: "Outcome-based rules will not promote innovation if they are superimposed on top of existing prescriptive rules. In advance of the introduction of the new Consumer Duty, we recommend that there be a thorough, post-Brexit review of FCA retail consumer regulation to identify existing prescriptive rules which could be removed when the Consumer Duty is introduced." We were delighted when Tulip Siddiq and Rt Hon Rachel Reeves adopted this in their review of Financial Services 'Financing Growth' earlier this year. Now it is being taken forward by the regulator. Sometimes the best things come to those who are persistent and patient! We will be working with @Innovate Finance members to respond to this review. Let's make the most of this huge opportunity to simplify and streamline the rule book - to achieve better outcomes for consumers and support innovation and growth. The FCA have said "We particularly want to address potential areas of complexity, duplication, confusion, or over-prescription, which create regulatory costs with limited or no consumer benefit. We also want to include appropriate flexibility in our rules to be responsive to future changes and innovation." What would you put on the list? #Innovation #Growth #ConsumerDuty #OutcomebasedRegulation

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Good to see the FCA now thinking about how it complies with its FSMA2023 requirement to keep its entire rulebook under review (and HMT’s new power to direct rule reviews). The BSA has long argued that its not sustainable for the regulators to always bolt on new rules without consideration of existing rules. A ‘one in one out’ approach to rule-making where you start with looking for existing rules to adapt and modify or replace has to be the way forward. See my blog I wrote late last year that rules should be for the long term not just for Christmas… https://lnkd.in/eVgQhkyA

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The Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) interim report on card scheme and processing fees is out - covering some crucial aspects of the payment ecosystem. Thoughts below… ⬇ Highlights 💡 1. The report underscores the complexity of current scheme and processing fees, highlighting the need for greater transparency from card schemes. Decoding these fees is currently challenging for many businesses. 2. The PSR indicates that existing fees might inhibit the rise of alternative payment methods, suggesting a more competitive landscape could emerge if these barriers are addressed. The complexity of the fees might also be limiting the rise of players that compete with the schemes on additional services - as it’s unclear for acquirers which services are core and which can be procured from these alternative providers. 3. The report identifies an imbalance in bargaining power between acquirers and issuers, emphasising the need to ensure that the network's benefits are balanced between the buyer and seller sides. Proposed Remedies 🔎 1. Encouraging card schemes to engage more constructively with acquirers and merchants to enhance offerings and foster a more collaborative environment, for example by consulting before introducing new fees. 2. Increasing transparency on what services are optional vs. mandatory could allow smaller providers to compete more effectively, driving innovation by allowing specialised providers to build on the schemes’ core platform. 3. Implementing greater financial reporting for continuous PSR supervision aims to pre-emptively address potential issues and prevent them from escalating into major problems. Really looking forward to contributing to these discussions and supporting the development of sustainable solutions. We need measures that will boost competition in the long run and benefit the entire payments landscape, including new methods like Account-to-Account (A2A) payments. Teya

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With the waiting over, now is the time to digest the final Basel 3.1 rules. Our detailed analysis will follow later. https://lnkd.in/e45kqJvz https://lnkd.in/eMG6syJf

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There’s a sense of real optimism amongst our global banks clients, which is reflected in the results from this year’s FI Sentiment Survey.   2 in 3 are optimistic about the long-term outlook for the financial services sector, as well as the UK economy. More than 4 in 5 respondents at global banks say they view AI as an opportunity – with many already seeing the benefits in terms of productivity and efficiency.   Read the report below to get the full picture. #LloydsBankInstitutionalCoverage

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Businesses have only a few rare and raw moments to truly connect with their customers. These moments can change a customer’s day, or even their life. That’s why I’ve always had a passion for collections. This is the often a customer’s hardest moment, and it’s a prime opportunity to help them and make a real impact. Unfortunately, many businesses view collections as uncomfortable or messy. They prefer to invest in the customers’ moments of joy rather than their moments of pain. But any opportunity to positively impact a life is also an opportunity to mess up royally. If you can’t see why investing in collections and hardship is an opportunity to “wow” or help customers, then maybe these fines will motivate businesses to invest and prevent these too-frequent moments of failure.

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The case remains for the Bank of England to start cutting rates With over two decades of experience in financial advisory and asset management, Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, advocates for the Bank of England to initiate interest rate cuts this summer, despite mixed UK inflation signals. Highlighting the potential benefits such as reduced mortgage payments, increased consumer spending, and stimulated economic growth, Green emphasizes the importance of proactive measures in the current economic climate. His insights underscore the significance of aligning with global trends to maintain competitiveness and foster confidence among businesses and consumers. Join the conversation and share your insights! The case remains for the Bank of England to start cutting rates (investorideas.com)

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Invest 2035, the UK government’s new modern industrial strategy, has real significance for the financial services sector - rightly recognised as one of the UK’s “greatest assets as an economy”. The Green Paper is a vote of confidence in financial services’ ability to drive growth, support consumers, empower the Net Zero transition and champion the country’s competitive export potential. Indeed, the 2021 Kalifa Review noted that the UK accounts for around 10% of global market share for fintech, with revenues forecast to more than triple over the course of this decade. I’m looking forward to working further with my colleagues at Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) to unlock the huge potential for financial innovation, and the resulting economic growth, that is stored in our cities, regions and nations.

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Rotamec Groups approach is a great example of how a manufacturing business benefits from incorporating a strategy focused on Talent, Supply Chain, Technology and Sustainability can help navigate the sort and long term challenges all manufactures are facing today. I really like the collaboration with local colleges and working with schools to show case the alternative employability opportunities to students too.

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