News

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Bank of Scotland £45.5 million for failures to disclose information about its suspicions that fraud may have occurred at the Reading-based Impaired Assets (IAR) team of Halifax Bank of Scotland. The scandal resulted in corrupt staff at the branch

Scotland continues to be the most attractive location for international investment into Financial Services outside London, according to EY’s 2019 UK Attractiveness Report. The number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the FS sector remained at the same level as the previous ye

British businesses could have £593 billion locked up in excess working capital, potentially hampering growth and leaving them exposed to economic uncertainty, according to new research from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. The Lloyds Bank Working Capital Index combines the bank’s propriet

Fife fintech company PaySend has already smashed through the crowdfunding target it set earlier this month in a capital raising round that valued the firm at £125 million. The crowdfunding campaign, launched with platform Seedrs, saw Kirkcaldy-based PaySend aim to rais

The British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has lent £500 million to UK small businesses since it was set up in 2012, according to newly published official figures. New data from the Government-backed scheme shows it has issued a total of 63,920 loans to fund small business acro

Britain’s fraud capitals for scams involving fake romances, computer virus attacks, investment fraud and bogus tradespeople have been revealed by new research as overall levels of fraud continue to spiral out of control.

The proposed name of the new regulator replacing the FRC should more closely reflect the sequencing of corporate governance, corporate reporting and audit, says the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). ICAS has responded to the initial BEIS consultation on the first wave of propose

The number of interest-only mortgages fell by (13.1 per cent) in 2018 compared to the previous year, UK Finance figures published today reveal. It means the total number of pure interest-only mortgages has now fallen by over half (54 per cent) in the past seven years, from 2.5 million in 2012 to 1.2

The Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland has welcomed new UK Government measures aimed at ensuring smaller firms are paid fairly by bigger businesses. Following years of FSB campaigning, ministers have proposed a swathe of new powers for the Small Business Commissioner to tackle late payments,

The Scottish economy has grown for the ninth consecutive quarter, latest official statistics show. The latest GDP figures show the Scottish economy grew by 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019. Compared to the same quarter last year, Scotland’s GDP has grown by 1.4 per cent.

Just over one in ten (11 per cent) millennials are planning to take out a mortgage in the next year, despite a third (33 per cent) claiming they are currently saving for a property, research from The Nottingham building society has revealed.

The value of new community projects in development through the Scotland-wide hub programme has risen from £600 million to £750m in the last three months.

D.R. Collin & Son, which is based in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, is set to increase exports to Europe and Asia with seven-figure backing from HSBC UK. The funding is being provided through a combination of facilities, including invoice discounting. The financial support will enable D.R. Co

The volume of flexible office stock in Scotland’s two largest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow, is set to more than double over the next five years, according to new research from property consultancy JLL. A new report from JLL – Disruption or Distraction – predicts that flex space wi

A group of accountants and business advisors has set off on an epic cycle from Aberdeen to London, in aid of charity.