Financial Services Bill Amendments: Ethical AI

Today (10 March 2021) is day 6 of committee stage of the Financial Servces Bill in the House of Lords and I am putting forward several amendments dealing with various aspects of digital technology in financial services. Two amendments deal with Artificial Intelligence (AI) – the general principle of ensuring the ethical use of AI …

Financial Services BIll Amendment: Review on Cashback Without Purchase

Today (8 March 2021) in committee stage of the Financial Services Bill I will be putting forward an amendment suggesting the Secretary of State report to Parliament on the options for enabling cash back without a purchase.  This option is currently not permissible under EU regulations for payment services, Payment Services Directive (PSD). The full …

Financial Services Bill Amendment: Financial Policy Committee & Financial Exclusion

Today (8 March 2021), in committee stage of the Financial Services Bill I will be putting forward an amendment suggesting an objective on the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) of the Bank of England to monitor financial exclusion in the UK and report to Parliament on their findings. The full wording of the amendment: Insert the …

Financial Services Bill Amendment: Sale of Mortgage Loan Books

Today (8 March 2021) in committee stage of the Financial Services Bill I will be putting forward an amendment to prohibit the sale of mortgage loan books from authorised to non authorised entities. The amendment in full: Insert the following new Clause— “Sale of mortgage loan books – (1) The Secretary of State must, within …

Financial Services Bill Amendments: Timetable and Funding for SDRP Arrangements

A further two amendments that I put forward today (3 March 2021) during committee stage of the Financial Services Bill deal with both the timetable and funding of Statutory Debt Repayment Plan (SDRP) arrangements. The Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 created the Debt Respite Scheme – a welcome piece of legislation that will bring …

Financial Services Bill Amendment: Provision of Debt Advice

Today (3 March 2021) I am putting forward an amendment to the Financial Services Bill that aims to support financial education by formalising the provision of debt advice. Its purpose is straight forward – to ensure that those who are within the Statutory Debt Repayment Plan scheme will receive debt advice. The full wording of …

Financial Services Bill Amendment: Updating the Know Your Customer [KYC] Process.

Today (3 March 2021) is day four of the House of Lords committee stage debate on the Financial Services Bill. I am proposing an amendment to highlight the current, sub-optimal, identity verification requirement in financial services known as Know Your Customer [KYC]. This amendment also offers a pathway to transforming our approach, our outcomes and …

Financial Services Bill Amendments: ‘Lead Generators’ – Time for Regulation.

Today (3 March 2021), in the House of Lords, I am putting forward an amendment to the Financial Services Bill which would increase protection for those who find themselves vulnerable to the sharp practice of ‘lead generators’ when they are seeking debt advice. The amendment is designed to prevent practice of so called ‘lead generation’. …

Financial Services Bill Amendment: The Case for Regional Mutual Banks

Today (1 March 2021) is day 3 of committee stage for the Financial Services Bill in the House of Lords. I am putting forward an amendment to the bill which could positively impact the levelling up agenda. If accepted, this amendment could: Dramatically increase financial inclusion for our superb SME businesses. Develop an effective ‘patient’ …