How the Treasury got ‘fed up’ with the Bank of England’s payments plan September 2, 2026 The government moved to more closely monitor the Bank of England’s overhaul of the UK’s payments system after growing frustrated with the sluggish pace of the plans, industry figures have said. The Treasury revealed last week it would begin tracking the central bank’s progress on payments and digital currencies by introducing a new secondary objective [...]
FCA ‘worked backwards’ to justify motor finance redress, say lenders September 1, 2026 A trio of motor finance lenders have accused the City watchdog of “working backwards” to justify its redress scheme that is set to cost the industry billions. In new documents, Mercedes-Benz’s financial services arm, which has set aside as much as £400m in payouts for the car mis-selling scandal, said the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) [...]
Treasury sought to cap motor finance payouts, court filings claim September 1, 2026 The government sought to cap payouts in the motor finance scandal at a level lenders could absorb and the City regulator acted “unlawfully” in failing to protect consumers, new court filings seen by City AM allege. Both the Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are facing fresh scrutiny over the motor finance redress scheme as [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 slides as bound rout deepens; Oil jumps as Trump vows more strikes on Iran September 1, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The London market is returning from the Bank Holiday break to a fall as tensions in the Middle East are simmering over again leading to the price of oil moving higher. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – climbed over $91 per barrel on Tuesday, [...]
UK fintech Allica Bank looks to crack European market August 31, 2026 Allica Bank is laying the groundwork to expand into the European market after becoming one of the fastest-growing fintech unicorns in the UK. The small business lender has applied for a banking licence in Sweden initiating its first move into a new market beyond its homeland. The submission to the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, known [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 jumps as oil falls back; Warsh says ‘work to do’ on inflation August 28, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index extended gains on Friday after some pressures in the oil market eased off. Oil prices reared back up on Thursday night, reversing days of losses earlier in the week. The price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – jumped [...]
Government pushes Bank of England to innovate on payments and digital currencies August 27, 2026 The Bank of England will be tracked on its progress on UK payments regulation after it was handed a new objective by ministers. The central bank will be given a new secondary objective to support innovation in payment systems and new forms of digital currencies alongside its main goals of financial stability. The Treasury is [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 falls but Nasdaq soars after Nvidia sales boom August 27, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue chip index suffered heavy losses on Thursday, as murky US inflation data overshadowed Nvidia’s sales triumph. While headline inflation fell back, the Fed’s preferred measure – the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) – is still running hot at 3.7 per cent. Investors [...]
Lloyds Bank and Halifax users unable to use app in latest outage August 26, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group has been hit with another app outage that has left thousands of customers unable to use services. The financial giant – which has Lloyds, Halifax and Scottish Widows under its umbrella – said it was “working to get things back to normal as quickly as we can” as users took to social [...]
Lloyds and Natwest flaunt social credentials as fears grow of Burnham tax grab August 26, 2026 Lloyds and Natwest are flaunting their community credentials and pledging a raft of new social investment initiatives as fears grow that Prime Minister Andy Burnham will launch a punishing tax raid on the sector with the government’s first Budget. The two lenders are among a group of top UK banks looking to prove they can [...]