LONDON (Reuters) – Companies in Britain could be forced to switch accountants to break up the cosy relationships between the “Big Four” and their clients, blamed for masking weaknesses exposed by the financial crisis.

The “Big Four” – KPMGKPMG.UL, PwC PWC.UL, Ernst & Young ERNY.UL and Deloitte DLTE.UL – check the books of nearly all listed companies in Britain and around the world, and have often served the same clients for decades.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s listed companies could be forced to switch accountants to boost competition and end the cosy relationships that have dismayed shareholders, the Competition Commission warned on Friday.

Competition in the UK audit market is restricted by factors that make it hard for companies to switch accountants, the commission said in preliminary findings from a probe it began in 2011.

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Britain’s listed companies could
be forced to switch accountants to boost competition and end the
cosy relationships that have dismayed shareholders, a UK
watchdog warned on Friday.

Competition in the UK audit market is restricted by factors
that make it hard for companies to switch accountants, the
Competition Commission said in preliminary findings from a probe
it began in 2011.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Britain’s Financial Services
Authority (FSA) will publish its internal review into when it
first knew about banks rigging the Libor benchmark within weeks,
before the watchdog is scrapped.

The UK watchdog told parliament’s Treasury Select Committee
in a written submission released to the media that the review
was being conducted by its internal audit division.

LONDON (Reuters) – The Treasury named veteran Bank of England official Andrew Bailey on Tuesday to head its new banking regulator just a month before he must present a plan to help two part state-owned banks to become independent.

Bailey will become a deputy governor of the Bank and chief executive of the bank’s new prudential regulation authority (PRA) from April 1.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain named veteran Bank of England official Andrew Bailey on Tuesday to head its new banking regulator just a month before he must present a plan to help two part state-owned banks to become independent.

Bailey will become a deputy governor of the Bank of England and chief executive of the bank’s new prudential regulation authority (PRA) from April 1.

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Britain named veteran Bank of
England official Andrew Bailey on Tuesday to head its new
banking regulator just a month before he must present a plan to
help two part state-owned banks to become independent.

Bailey will become a deputy governor of the Bank of England
and chief executive of the bank’s new prudential regulation
authority (PRA) from April 1.

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The “Big Four” accounting firms
should find out this week how their grip on Britain’s audit
market could be loosened in a ruling Europe and the United
States will scrutinise.

The Competition Commission launched its probe into the audit
market for the country’s 350 top listed firms in 2011 but has
delayed its preliminary findings twice to this month. It said it
was hoping to make an announcement this week.

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Global regulators have proposed
cutting back how much collateral banks and other users of
off-exchange financial derivative instruments must have to back
their trades in a bid to avoid markets tying up too much capital
as economies struggle.

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank and the
near-death experience of insurer AIG in 2008 world leaders
agreed there should be wider use of collateral to back such
derivatives transactions to make the $640 trillion market safer.

LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union and the United States agreed on Thursday to implement the new global Basel III capital adequacy rules for banks as soon as possible, EU financial services chief Michel Barnier said after a meeting in Washington.

The Basel rules are the world’s main regulatory response to the 2007-09 financial crisis, aimed at preventing a repeat crisis where banks had to be bailed out by their governments.