Friday newspaper round-up: Royal Mail, payments providers, Atom Bank
The chief executive of Royal Mail has been accused of “incompetence or cluelessness” by MPs calling on the regulator Ofcom to investigate whether the company broke legal service requirements. Parliament’s cross-party business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee has asked the watchdog to investigate a suspected breach of the universal service obligation (USO), which requires the postal operator to deliver letters nationwide six days a week. – Guardian
Payments providers have been ordered by the City watchdog to strengthen their controls as fears of another financial crisis continue to haunt markets. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) threatened to shut down so-called shadow banks – which offer deposit and transfer services without a banking licence – unless they “ensure your customers' money is safe”. – Telegraph
A British challenger bank that has championed a four-day working week is seeking £150m in fresh funding from investors. Atom Bank, which has no branches and serves customers through a smartphone app, has reportedly approached investors about raising more money after previously raising £30m in November. – Telegraph
A £205 million annual funding package announced yesterday for the next batch of renewable power projects will be insufficient to spur required investment, the government has been told. Proposed wind, solar, tidal and geothermal electricity projects are expected to compete in this year’s auction for contracts that guarantee them a fixed price for electricity. – The Times
A top five shareholder in British American Tobacco has called for the cigarette group to move its primary listing to New York. Rajiv Jain, founder of the $92 billion US-based investment firm GQG Partners, has urged bosses at the FTSE 100-listed owner of Lucky Strike and Dunhill cigarettes to shift its listing from London, which dates back to 1912. - The Times