Rachel Reeves’ banking reforms ‘unlikely to be transformative’ November 3, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ financial services growth mission faces a major blow with top City voices warning her regulatory reforms won’t be transformative. The Chancellor unveiled her Leeds Reform package intended to “rewire the financial services industry” in July this year. Whilst the moves were cheered by industry bigwigs, analysts have raised concerns the changes will fail [...]
Motor finance, Madoff fraud, tax fears – bank shares defy the noise October 31, 2025 A motor finance battle, hefty impairment charges and the shadow of 2008 all cast over banks third-quarter results but beneath the fog investors are rewarding the FTSE 100’s top lenders for another bumper quarter. The FTSE 350 banks index has risen nearly four per cent this month and is up 17 per cent for the [...]
The tax trap catching thousands of working pensioners October 30, 2025 Thousands of working pensioners found themselves ensnared in the income tax trap last year, as frozen thresholds yanked them into the higher tax bracket. According to a freedom of information request to HMRC by Interactive Investor, 77,000 pensioners found themselves paying 60 per cent income tax, up from just 34,000 three years ago. It was [...]
The best cash bonus deals for switching current accounts October 30, 2025 UK banks and building societies are handing out hefty cash bonuses to entice customers to switch accounts, with Nationwide among the sweetest offers. The building society recorded 54,347 switches between April and June, largely driven by its £200 switch incentive. Its Fairer Share scheme, which offers a one off bonus payment of £100, was also [...]
Standard Chartered shares hit 12-year high after income upgrade October 30, 2025 Banking giant Standard Chartered has upgraded its income target for the full-year after its booming wealth business powered profit higher. The FTSE 100 lender posted a pre-tax profit of $1.8bn (£1.36bn) in the three months to September, ahead of the $1.5bn pencilled in by analysts. Shares in the bank jumped to a 12-year high after [...]
Barclays and Santander top highest customer exodus after outages October 30, 2025 Barclays and Santander recorded the highest net losses of current account switches in the second quarter of the year after outages disrupted thousands of customers’ online banking. Over 22,000 users switched from Barclays in the three months to June 2025, with just under 4,000 joining, marking a net loss of over 18,000. Santander recorded a [...]
Complaints to banks ombudsman fall after Treasury clamp down October 29, 2025 Complaints to the banking ombudsman have tumbled in the three months to September 2025 after the Treasury launched its own clamp down. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) recorded 46,300 complaints in the quarter, down from 73,700 in the same period last year. In the three months to June, 68,000 complaints were recorded. The fall followed [...]
Santander UK boss: Government must overrule FCA on motor finance October 29, 2025 Santander UK has said it will delay its third-quarter earnings report due to “uncertainty” following the financial watchdog’s motor finance redress scheme. The Spanish banking giant was due to publish its financial report for the third-quarter on Wednesday but has put it on hold “pending greater clarity regarding the [Financial Conduct Authority]’s proposals”. The bank’s [...]
HSBC shares rise as Georges Elhedery’s pivot East beats the noise October 28, 2025 HSBC’s pass through the third quarter was almost identical to the second. Despite another hefty hit to the firm’s bottom line, chief executive Georges Elhedery has quietly and effectively pushed ahead with his bold overhaul of the group. For the three months to September 30, HSBC took a 14 per cent profit beat falling to [...]
Barclays snaps up US personal loans fintech for $800m October 28, 2025 Barclays is set to take control of a US personal loans fintech in a deal that the lending giant hopes will beef up its loans package for its investment bank clients. The FTSE 100 bank said it would use consumer loan platform Best Egg as an “origination engine” after snapping the firm up for $800m [...]