Banking boss says firms preparing to leave UK before EU exit + MORE Oct 23rd

LONDON – The head of the British Bankers’ Association has warned that financial firms are planning to start leaving London within weeks because of uncertainty about the U.K.’s exit from the European Union.
Chief executive Anthony Browne said in an article published Sunday that banks fear EU politicians will erect trade barriers with Britain in a bid to undermine the City of London, currently Europe’s pre-eminent financial district. They also fear U.K.-based financial firms will lose the right to conduct business across the bloc.
Browne wrote in The Observer newspaper that bankers’ “hands are quivering over the relocate button.” He said “many smaller banks plan to start relocations before Christmas; bigger banks are expected to start in the first quarter of next year.”
Browne said tariffs would hurt both Britain and the EU, but that economic arguments might lose out amid hardening political rhetoric from both sides.
He said national governments might “try to use the EU exit negotiations to build walls across the Channel to split Europe’s integrated financial market in two, in order to force jobs from London…

Bank fees are bothersome – but they are often avoidable.
The American Bankers Association estimates that 61 per cent of Americans pay nothing for bank services. But that still leaves a sizeable number of folks who regularly shell out cash just to access their own money.
ATM fees, overdraft fees and monthly account maintenance fees are the ones most commonly faced by consumers, according to Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com. McBride and other experts say there are ways, however, to minimize or eliminate these annoying and sometimes costly fees.
OVERDRAFT: Keep close tabs on transactions and account balances to avoid overdrawing your account. If you share the account with a spouse or someone else, make sure you have a system in place for sharing and tracking this information. And if you do overdraw, rectify the situation as soon as possible to keep additional fees from piling up.
One easy way to avoid overdrafts is to sign up for email or text alerts letting you know when you balance gets below a certain level…

Learn, save, invest and prosper with My Own Advisor.
A novel concept but it shouldn’t be – a life insurance program that actually rewards you for healthy living.  I didn’t know much about this new Manulife initiative until I saw the recent media blitz so I reached out to an independent life insurance broker, Glenn Cooke, President, Life Insurance Canada.com to get his inside industry take and answer a few questions.
First, what is Vitality?
Glenn:  This of it as a wellness program.  Live well, eat well, and earn points.  Continue to live well and improve your health status over time and you can qualify for additional rewards including savings on your life insurance premiums.
I found this 2-minute promotional video, check it out:

Video link, Manulife site.
Glenn, is this a new concept for life insurance industry?
This type of program has had great success in the U.S. but it is new here.   I think Canadians should know some practical implications of this new program.
Do tell…
Glenn:  This is not a difference in life insurance…