The UK’s amateur landlords, already bruised by higher taxes when they buy rentals and lower rates of tax relief, could be facing a new blow.

The British government unveiled plans yesterday to centralise financial regulation further at the Bank of England and reinforce its own powers to shield taxpayers from having to prop up failing lenders in future.

Britain’s government published proposals to give the Bank of England new legal powers to control residential mortgage lending yesterday, but said it wanted more evidence before deciding on a BoE request to regulate lending to landlords.

The Bank of England gave a clean bill of health to Britain’s flagship mortgage guarantee scheme yesterday, sparing the government from potential embarrassment in the run-up to a national election.

The Bank of England has eased a curb on risky mortgages that are large relative to a borrower’s income, amid signs that Britain’s housing market has begun to cool.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee holds its monthly policy meeting this week, with expectations that policy will be left unchanged.

The Bank of England’s plan to increase interest rates gradually may mean it should move earlier than would otherwise be the case, a top policymaker at the central bank said.

Britain’s banks and financial firms are taking part in a major cyber “war game” exercise today to test their defences against the mounting threat of online attack.

Nick Clegg, Britain’s deputy prime minister, has said that the UK is nowhere near a house-price bubble and the Bank of England has tools to prevent it, amid growing concerns that government support for home-buying is stoking another boom.

The bonus plans of Britain's biggest banks were under the spotlight again today as the City watchdog revealed it was stepping up pressure to curb excessive payouts.

A new financial watchdog in the UK considered making life easier for banks by relaxing tough balance sheet rules in a bid to encourage lending, documents revealed today.

British banks must strengthen their balance sheets against potential future crises without damaging the wider economy, the British government’s new financial watchdog warned today.

Banking reforms need to move away from the “demonisation” of overpaid traders, the head of the UK's City regulator said.

UK MPs will today hear details of the shake-up of banking regulation announced by Chancellor George Osborne in a bid to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis.