Hitachi agrees to pay $19m over improper SA payments
Japanese firm Hitachi has agreed to pay $19 million to the SEC to settle charges that it had made improper payments to South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress. The accusation comes from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, who claim Hitachi paid the money to a front company for the ANC in order to secure contracts for the construction of two power plants.
VW emissions scandal affects 1.2m vehicles in the UK
Volkswagen has announced that almost 1.2 million of its cars in the UK are fitted with the software responsible for the emissions scandal. This includes diesel-powered cars from VW as well as Audi, Seat and Skoda. VW will send out vehicle identification numbers of the affected cars to retailers and then to owners. They are also working on a process by which owners can check whether or not their car is affected.
Former Deutsche Bank trader accuses FCA of improper identification
The FCA has been accused by former Deutsche Bank trader Christian Bittar of improperly identifying him as an alleged rogue trader in public notices relating to the Libor scandal. The watchdog has supposedly avoided due legal process by making it easy to identify rogue traders when it fines banks. FCA findings against companies are intended to anonymise individuals involved.
Which? proposes overhaul of bank accounts
Consumer group Which? has called for a 'complete overhaul' of UK bank accounts, suggesting that the competition regulator should 'name and shame' banks providing the worst accounts. This comes a month before the CMA is due to publish findings from an investigation into current accounts and banking services to smaller businesses. The banking industry has responded that the costs of banking are falling, while customer satisfaction is rising.
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