THE DAILY BRIEFING

FEAR FADES

The Bank of England said it has considered increasing the amount of money that the banks must set aside to counter the risks they face as lending in Britain grows, but will now hold off taking a decision until June.

Risks of a Brexit hit to Britain’s huge financial services industry had eased since its previous meeting in November, its Financial Policy Committee said.

CARD ACTION

Ailing doorstep lender Provident Financial is being sued by shareholder Aberdeen over a £169m mis- selling scandal at its Vanquis credit card arm.

TOP TAP

Water firm United Utilities said trading is in line with expectations, and it expects revenue for the year ending March to come in higher than the £1.7bn reported in 2016/17. Profits are also expected to be higher.

FRAUD CHIEF

The Serious Fraud Office could have a new director this week with names in the frame including its general counsel Alun Milford and barrister Sasha Wass. Incumbent David Green leaves at the end of April after six years.

SERVICE BAN

Energy supplier Iresa has been banned by energy watchdog Ofgem from taking on any new customers or increasing direct debit amounts until it resolves service issues, including responding to calls and letters faster.

BUYERS FALL

The number of new-house buyers registering with estate agents dropped 16pc last month, according to research by trade body NAEA Propertymark.

TAX QUIZ

MPs on the Treasury select committee plan to quiz HMRC over £12.6bn of uncollected VAT payments in 2015/16.

BEAST BURDEN

Bus firm Stagecoach has suffered a 2.5pc drop in sales for the latest four-week period following the snow disruption in February and March caused by the ‘Beast from the East’.

It also caused total regional bus sales to struggle for the 44 weeks to March 3, falling 0.1pc.

HOME BASE

The slowdown in London’s property market continues with prices rising just 1pc in the year to February – the lowest increase in nearly seven years.

By comparison, prices for the country as a whole rose by 4.6pc during the same period, claims data firm Hometrack.