Mortgage deals shrink by a fifth since outbreak of Iran war March 23, 2026 The number of mortgage deals on offer for homeowners have shrunk by nearly a fifth since war broke out in Iran just over three weeks ago. Just shy of 1,500 fewer residential mortgages were available on Monday morning, compared with March 9, amounting to a contraction of 19.5 per cent. According to financial information platform [...]
Federal Reserve orders Oaknorth to set up UK holding firm March 23, 2026 Digital bank Oaknorth has been ordered by the US financial watchdog to switch its domicile to the UK to get the green light on its takeover of a Michigan-based bank. The small business lender is exploring plans to establish a new UK holding company as a way to seal the deal on its acquisition of [...]
Revolut poised to hit Natwest and Lloyds in deposit war March 20, 2026 Revolut’s long-awaited UK banking licence approval is set to trigger a “deposit war” that could hand a major blow to incumbent giants Natwest and Lloyds. The $75bn fintech juggernaut finally bagged its full-fat UK banking permit earlier this month after a four-year tussle with regulators. Analysts are expecting the move to send ripples across the [...]
Banks keep £100 contactless limit despite new powers March 19, 2026 Britain’s banks will not be lifting the £100 cap on contactless payments despite the regulator giving them the power to do so, citing low demand. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lifted the cap on Thursday, leaving it up to banks to increase their own limits – although none of the UK’s biggest banks have decided [...]
Natwest and Lloyds shares sink as Iran tensions drag FTSE 100 into red March 19, 2026 The FTSE 100 was treading slightly above the 10,000 mark on Thursday as fears grew that the index could slip underneath the milestone. London’s blue-chip index fell 2.7 per cent by the afternoon to lows of 10,002.30p. It came as shares in a number of the City’s banking giants led the FTSE 100’s downturn this [...]
Treasury reforms to banks ombudsman threaten independence, MPs warn March 18, 2026 The Treasury’s reforms to the banks ombudsman threaten to upend the body’s independence, a group of influential MPs have warned. The government revealed its overhaul proposals for the financial ombudsman service (FOS) on Tuesday in a bid to curb concerns it had behaved as a “quasi-regulator”. But a fresh letter to City minister Lucy Rigby [...]
City AM Awards 2026: Meet the Finalists March 18, 2026 And the nominees are…. Personality of the Year Greg Jackson CBE The entrepreneur and CEO of Octopus Energy has become one of the UK’s most prominent business leaders, known for his straight talking and punchy views across a range of topics including UK entrepreneurship, the business environment, capital markets and, of course, energy. In August [...]
Is the motor finance scandal making City banks trim the fat? March 18, 2026 The motor finance scandal is reshaping the banking sector, in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at how lenders are responding. In the fallout of the multi-billion pound motor finance scandal, bank bosses are getting their house in order. The landmark saga, which began with the UK’s financial watchdog’s review into the market [...]
Cash incentives keep Brits sticking with the high-street March 18, 2026 Digital banks are luring a number of Brits away from traditional providers, but cash incentives are leading many to stick with high-street banks. Almost 50 per cent of UK adults have now opened a digital only bank account, a near 10 per cent increase from last year, according to the latest report from comparison site [...]
Boku boss: Nasdaq is no ‘silver bullet’ for fintech listings March 17, 2026 The boss of one of the London market’s fastest growing fintech companies has warned flocking to a listing on Wall Street is no “silver bullet” for firms seeking deeper liquidity than what’s on offer in the City. Stuart Neal, the chief executive of Boku, told City AM shifting the firm’s listing across the Atlantic would [...]