Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK’s largest DIY investment platform managing over £170 billion in assets, restored full service to its website and mobile app on Friday evening, ending a more than 24-hour outage that left investors unable to access their accounts during a period of heightened market volatility. The disruption began Thursday evening and coincided with escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a unanimous decision by the Bank of England to hold interest rates at 3.75%, contributing to a turbulent trading session.
The company confirmed in a statement that clients could once again transact as normal, and that “all clients’ assets and data have remained secure throughout and there has been no evidence of any cyber incident, data breach or system compromise.” However, the resolution did little to quell customer frustration, with many taking to social media to express anger over the prolonged outage and perceived lack of communication from the firm.
The timing of the technical failure proved particularly problematic for investors. Oil prices surged following reports of bombings targeting energy infrastructure in Iran, Qatar, and the UAE, while the FTSE 100 index experienced its lowest point this month following the Bank of England’s interest rate announcement, as reported by The Times.
This is not the first time Hargreaves Lansdown has faced technical issues. In September, a glitch briefly displayed incorrect account balances to thousands of investors. The latest incident comes as the firm navigates increased competition from rivals offering lower fees and more streamlined digital platforms. Earlier this month, Hargreaves Lansdown initiated a significant overhaul of its fee structure, cutting annual account and share dealing fees while introducing a charge for fund trading – a move expected to cost the company tens of millions of pounds, according to The Times.
The Treasury Select Committee recently wrote to Lloyds Banking Group CEO Charlie Nunn seeking information regarding compensation for customers affected by a separate technical glitch earlier this month, which exposed some users to other customers’ transaction data. The incident underscores a growing concern among regulators regarding the resilience of financial institutions’ IT infrastructure. Some Hargreaves Lansdown customers have called for the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate Friday’s outage and consider compensation, while others have indicated plans to transfer their investments to alternative providers.
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