Non-Standard Finance said that it plans to close its guarantor loans division, the latest British sub-prime lender forced to scale back because of a sharp increase in complaints and intense regulatory scrutiny, Reuters reported. NSF, whose shares slumped 12% after results showed an annual loss and steep costs, said that it will place its guarantor loans division into a managed run-off, and eventually shut it down.

Britain is set to secure an exemption for financial services from a new global tax system which was agreed by the Group of Seven economies to squeeze more money out of multinationals like Google, the Financial Times said on Wednesday. Reuters had reported earlier this month that British finance minister Rishi Sunak was pushing for financial service firms to be exempt to help protect the City of London's largest banks from paying more tax.

The British government introduced a new exemption to its quarantine rules on Tuesday for business travelers “bringing significant economic benefit” to England, but the move is unlikely to quell frustrations that certain travel routes in and out of Britain remain effectively shut, the New York Times reported. The exemption has strict criteria and applies only to executives whose work supports at least 500 British jobs. It is much tighter than one that was in place for about six weeks from early December, when travelers needed to support only 50 jobs in Britain.

The final easing of lockdown measures in England is still set for 19 July, the new health secretary has said, BBC.com reported. Sajid Javid told MPs that ministers "see no reason to go beyond" that "target date". He said that while cases were rising, the number of deaths "remains mercifully low". In a statement, he said no date for lifting restrictions would come with "zero risk" and that "we have to learn to live with" Covid-19. "We also know that people and businesses need certainty, so we want every step to be irreversible," he said.

A top financial regulator in Britain has ordered Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, to cease regulated activity in the country, the latest effort by a world government to limit crypto-related businesses, the Washington Post reported.

The GFG Alliance owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta said on Monday it was progressing with a major restructuring which will allow it to pay back creditors after its main lender Greensill Capital collapsed in March, Reuters reported. “This in turn will allow GFG to refocus its business, protect jobs and develop further its remaining assets,” it said in a statement. GFG has been under pressure to find refinancing for its cash-starved web of businesses in steel, aluminium and energy after supply chain finance firm Greensill filed for insolvency.

Britain's accounting regulator said on Monday it has opened investigations into the audits of Greensill Capital and Wyelands Bank as regulatory scrutiny of the companies intensifies, Reuters reported. Wyelands Bank is owned by steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta's metals-to-finance empire GFG Alliance, which it financed. GFG Alliance was closely linked to financing company Greensill Capital which went bust earlier this year.

The company behind Amigo Loans has been given an extra three-month lifeline from its lender as the business tries to stave off collapse, Yahoo.com reported. The guarantor lender said that its bank had extended the grace period it had given Amigo to September 24. The waiver was set to run out on Friday. During this period the bank will not take action if Amigo breaks the conditions attached to the so-called securitisation facility. The amount available to Amigo through the facility was also slashed to £100 million from £250 million.

Britain said Thursday that it intends to relax pandemic travel restrictions by allowing people who are fully vaccinated to visit a wide range of countries without having to self-isolate on their return, the Associated Press reported. The Department for Transport said that it expects to implement the new policy in phases later this summer. The change would apply to fully vaccinated people traveling to destinations on the government’s “amber” list, which currently covers much of the world, including the U.S. and most of the European Union.