Latest news with #SarahBreeden
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mastercard's Vocalink fined £11.9m by BOE over compliance lapses
The Bank of England has imposed a fine of £11.9m against Vocalink for failing to comply with a regulatory direction to address systems and controls issues. This marks the first instance of the Bank of England penalising a financial market infrastructure firm. In 2021, the central bank directed Vocalink to address identified weaknesses in its systems and controls through a remediation programme, with a deadline of 28 February 2022. However, the Mastercard-owned company failed to fully comply due to an ineffective risk management framework, coupled with deficiencies in its controls, governance, and escalation processes, the regulator said. BoE deputy governor for financial stability Sarah Breeden said: 'Vocalink fell short of its obligation to have adequate risk management and governance arrangements when responding to the Bank's Direction. Its failure to comply with that Direction in full has resulted in a significant fine.' The investigation pinpointed a lack of a sufficiently integrated risk management framework as the root cause of Vocalink's non-compliance. This flaw hindered the ability to properly understand, monitor, and communicate risks associated with the remediation programme. Furthermore, the bank identified failures in escalating key risks and information to senior committees, which compromised Vocalink's capacity to meet the regulatory expectations. In response to the investigation's findings, Vocalink has undertaken significant investments to address the issues that prompted the issuance of the direction and the subsequent non-compliance. In a statement, Vocalink spokesperson said: 'We are pleased to resolve this matter which related to issues identified in 2020. Since then, we've delivered a number of improvements. 'The historic issues related to internal systems and controls and had no impact on the service we delivered to UK consumers and businesses.' Vocalink is a UK-based company that designs, builds, and operates infrastructure for payment systems. Its technology is integral to the functioning of the UK's real-time payment, batch payment, and cheque image clearing services, as well as a vast network of ATMs across the country. "Mastercard's Vocalink fined £11.9m by BOE over compliance lapses " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
The Star
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Roundup: BoE warns of global economic risks amid U.S. tariff hikes
LONDON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of England (BoE) warned Wednesday that the global economy faces rising downside risks, citing escalating U.S. tariffs. In its latest Financial Stability Report, Britain's central bank highlighted that tariff hikes, particularly by the U.S., are dampening global demand and weighing on business investment decisions. Disruptions to global supply chains and geopolitical tensions are also exacerbating uncertainty around inflation, it added. "Financial markets experienced a period of significant turbulence in April following announcements by the U.S. on trade policy," said BoE Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Sarah Breeden, adding that risks and uncertainties associated with geopolitical tensions, reduced co-operation on trade and international policy, and government finances globally are still elevated. Amid the tariff threat, the report noted the vulnerabilities of global household and corporate debt vulnerabilities. "Globally, household and corporate balance sheets remain healthy in aggregate but face headwinds in the context of an uncertain economic outlook," it said. Over the past six months, one of the big economic problems and chaos has been Washington's trade policy, said Steve Nolan, a senior lecturer in economics at Liverpool John Moores University. He added that the uncertainty of the trade policy "has had massive effects" on the markets and the bonds. Nolan's remarks echoed with the report, which warns that trade policy changes create particular difficulties for corporate sectors in impacted regions, resulting in reduced profits and increased manufacturing expenses. In the euro area, the report cautioned that the steel and automotive industries in the area are "particularly export-oriented and therefore tariff-sensitive," and the automotive industry receives a large share of bank lending. According to the European Central Bank's Financial Stability Review in May, trade frictions could significantly affect the resilience of euro area firms in key export-oriented industries. Intensifying trade frictions could worsen the outlook of firms, especially in the manufacturing sector. In terms of global public sector debt vulnerabilities, the report also highlighted that public debt-to-GDP ratios are rising globally. In Britain, sectors such as manufacturing, which are heavily reliant on U.S. demand, are especially exposed, with analysts warning that falling global consumption and rising production costs could affect British companies' profitability. Noting that a new trade agreement between Britain and the United States in May has brought some relief, the report cautioned that a further escalation in trade disputes globally could amplify financial stress and drag on economic growth.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bank of England hits Mastercard subsidiary with £12m fine
A Mastercard-owned company has been fined almost £12m by the Bank of England after it failed to fully comply with a regulatory order to fix weaknesses in its risk management. Vocalink – which was acquired by Mastercard in 2017 – has been slapped with the £11.9m fine due to failing to meet directions from the bank by 28 February, 2022. This marks the first time the Bank has fined a financial market infrastructure firm. The Bank said an ineffective risk management framework, combined with weakness in its controls, governance arrangements and escalation processes meant that Vocalink failed to comply with requirements. The payment systems firm designs, builds and operates core infrastructure for the UK and other markets. The root cause of the non-compliance was linked to Vocalink's failure to have in place a 'sufficiently integrated risk management framework'. Sarah Breeden, deputy governor for financial stability, said: 'Vocalink fell short of its obligation to have adequate risk management and governance arrangements when responding to the Bank's direction. Its failure to comply with that Direction in full has resulted in a significant fine.' The Bank of England added Vocalink had failed to escalate key risks and information to senior committees undermining its 'ability to fully comply with the direction'. The firm was also blasted for governance arrangements falling 'below the standards expected of a financial market infrastructure firm'. Due to the company's co-operation and agreement to resolve the matter, it received a combined 45 per cent reduction. Without reduction, the fine would have stood at £20m. A Vocalink spokesperson said: 'We are pleased to resolve this matter which related to issues identified in 2020. 'Since then, we've delivered a number of improvements, as recognised in the Bank's final notice. 'The historic issues related to internal systems and controls and had no impact on the service we delivered to the UK's consumers and businesses.' UK fintech veteran Monzo was also slapped with a fine from the Financial Conduct Authority this week. The neobank faced a £21m penalty after the regulator found it had approved customers who listed their address as Downing Street, Buckingham Palace and Monzo's own address. Sign in to access your portfolio
Finextra
09-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Bank of England fines Vocalink over compliance failure
The Bank of England has hit UK payments operator Vocalink with an £11.9 million fine after it missed a deadline to fix problems in its risk management framework. 1 Vocalink was required by the Bank to remediate a number of identified systems and controls weaknesses. However, the central bank says an ineffective risk management framework, combined with weaknesses in Vocalink's controls, governance arrangements and escalation processes meant that it failed to comply in full by the February 2022 deadline. The Mastercard subsidiary operates the UK's real-time payments, settlement and direct debit systems, as well as networks of over 47,000 ATMs. It processes more than 90% of salaries, 70% of household bills, and 98% of state benefit payments in the UK. It is the first time the Bank has fined a systemically important financial market infrastructure firm. Sarah Breeden, deputy governor for financial stability, says: 'Vocalink fell short of its obligation to have adequate risk management and governance arrangements when responding to the Bank's Direction. Its failure to comply with that Direction in full has resulted in a significant fine.' Vocalink says that it has invested significantly in remediating the issues identified by the Bank. Due to the company's co-operation and agreement to resolve the matter, it received a combined 45 per cent reduction. Without reduction, the fine would have stood at £20m. A Vocalink spokesperson says: 'We are pleased to resolve this matter which related to issues identified in 2020. Since then, we've delivered a number of improvements, as recognised in the Bank's final notice. The historic issues related to internal systems and controls and had no impact on the service we delivered to the UK's consumers and businesses.'
Rhyl Journal
09-07-2025
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Bank of England fines Mastercard's Vocalink £11.9m over compliance failures
Vocalink fell short of its obligations in relation to its risk management and governance framework, according to the Bank. In 2021, it was asked by the central bank to take remediation action in response to issues and weaknesses in its systems and controls. However, the firm failed to comply with the requirements by the February 2022 deadline, and was found to have an 'ineffective risk management framework, combined with weaknesses in its controls, governance arrangements and escalation processes'. Sarah Breeden, the Bank's deputy governor for financial stability, said Vocalink 'fell short of its obligation', adding: 'Its failure to comply with that direction in full has resulted in a significant fine.' The Bank said it was the first time it has fined a financial market infrastructure firm. The fine was reduced from £20 million due to Vocalink admitting to the compliance failure early on and agreeing to resolve the matter. Vocalink, which became part of US payments giant Mastercard in 2017, says it processes more than 90% of salaries, 70% of household bills, and 98% of state benefit payments in the UK. It runs the technical infrastructure that processes billions of automated payments each year on behalf of the Bankers' Automated Clearing System (Bacs). Its technology also powers an ATM network of more than 47,000 machines. A spokesman for Vocalink said it was 'pleased to resolve this matter which related to issues identified in 2020'. 'Since then, we've delivered a number of improvements,' the firm said. 'The historic issues related to internal systems and controls and had no impact on the service we delivered to the UK's consumers and businesses.'
