On 14 March 2023, the European Commission published its proposals for reform of the electricity market design. This followed a period of prolonged high electricity and gas prices, during which several stakeholders highlighted the challenges of the current market design, advocating for changes to the current arrangements. More recently, the… Read More
As part of its proposals for reform of the electricity market design, the Commission has proposed that any low-carbon generation that requires financial support from governments should be supported by two-way Contracts for Difference (CfDs) or other mechanisms that provide, in addition to a revenue guarantee, an upper limit on… Read More
Open Banking in the UK has been a qualified success to date. It is used by 7m consumers and businesses and 68m Open Banking payments were made in 2022. However, this success must be kept in perspective. These users only account for around 10% of the UK’s adult population and… Read More
Finding a new job is hard; so is finding the right employee to fill a vacancy. This can limit how much firms and employees are able to grow, both commercially and professionally. There are many causes, ranging from the fact that the job-finding process can be highly individualised to the… Read More
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is in the process of reviewing risk weights on banks’ assets. Allica Bank commissioned Oxera to review the PRA’s proposals, particularly as they are likely to affect Allica’s, and various other banks’ core activity, SME lending. SME finance is important for the general health of the… Read More
The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) has recognised the importance of companies reporting accurate information for the efficient operation of financial markets in its recent consultation on the quality of corporate reporting. In particular, in its Call for Evidence on the… Read More
The European Commission has published a proposal on its regulatory approach towards ‘instant payments’ (‘IPs’), which are bank credit transfers settled in real time. In the EU, the technical standard for IPs is SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (‘SCT Inst’). The existing credit transfers that are not in real time are… Read More
Ill health among working-age people presents a substantial and rising cost to the UK economy, individuals and taxpayers. Addressing this challenge is not only socially desirable but an economic imperative. Oxera was asked by The Times to estimate the costs of ill health among the UK working-age population, to support… Read More
Energy prices in Europe started rising in autumn 2021. Energy demand had increased as the COVID-19 pandemic receded, which coincided with a tight liquified natural gas (LNG) market and relatively low gas storage volumes going into winter 2021/22. In early 2022, Russian aggression towards Ukraine and the corresponding reduction in… Read More
On 23 February 2022, the European Commission published its draft Data Act, a proposal for a regulation of access to and use of data, in particular data generated by IoT devices and related services. The Data Act is primarily intended to unlock the value of data by increasing the extent… Read More
