Is the UK government opening up the banking system to foreign participants?
The UK government's decision to force Lloyds bank and Royal Bank of Scotland to sell significant chunks of their assets and their branch networks could play into the hands of overseas financial companies who have long looked at the UK as a potentially lucrative market. The decision, which was effectively taken out of the hands of the UK government by the EU Commission, will see existing participants in the UK market barred from acquiring any assets which are placed on the market thereby leaving a free run for overseas companies.
It is no secret that the UK economy as a whole, and especially the utilities sector, is now dominated by large overseas companies who may not have the best interests of the UK at heart. There are now concerns that this could spread into the UK banking system, where previously the likes of Barclays, Lloyds bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and other UK-based establishments, have been more prominent than overseas counterparts.
However, we now live in a global financial market where barriers to entry across the world have fallen and more companies have in the past looked towards overseas expansion as a way to spread their risk and increase their profile. Maybe the UK market is just going through a similar process although the assistance offered by the UK government, directly or indirectly, may well lead to a hasty injection of overseas companies into the market.
Share this..
Related stories
Will Christmas be jolly for the kids of the UK?
Despite trouble on the high street and trouble in the UK employment market the signs only a few days ago appeared to show that spending on Christmas would actually maintain last year's level or slightly increase. However, as we approach perhaps the most important sales weekend of the year there are suggestions that children this year will receive less presents and have less money spent on them tha...
Read MoreIs it dangerous to cut public spending and the quantitative easing program?
As the Chancellor Alistair Darling wrestles with the problem of reducing the UK government's overdraft and addressing the issue of public services there are very few people who would like to be in his shoes at the moment. While at some stage we will certainly see a reduction in investment into the public sector and a closing of the government's quantitative easing program, but if the two were to h...
Read MoreInsurance comparison websites are failing customers
16/07/2014 Insurance comparison websites are not giving consumers the “appropriate information to make informed decisions”, according to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA reviewed 14 comparison sites and said that some of them were failing to meet regulatory standards. They said that comparison sites focused too much on price, rather than the different features each insur...
Read MoreTrading standards officers highlight short measures
Trading standards officers in Birmingham have highlighted that in their opinion 9 out of 10 pints they tested in the Birmingham area were in effect short measures. They found that the average pint was 3.94% short which equates to around £400 million in additional revenue (if replicated across the UK) which UK drinkers are paying for drink which they do not receive. Indeed one "pint" was said to b...
Read MoreReport: Unfair council tax must be reformed
Council tax systems in England and Wales are unfair on local communities and must be urgently reformed, an influential report has concluded.The independent review of local government by Sir Michael Lyons, professor of public policy at Birmingham University, recommends that council tax bands be rebalanced to reflect changes in property prices.Ahead of today's Budget announcement from Gordon Brown,...
Read More