Close Brothers shares downgraded despite motor finance win August 18, 2025 Analysts have slapped a downgrade on Close Brothers stock despite the bank’s motor finance win last month at the Supreme Court. The FTSE 250-listed bank’s stock rating was lowered to ‘Sector Perform’, down from previous ‘Outperform’ expectations. Close Brothers shares were down over four per cent in early trading to 494.80. It comes after the [...]
Standard Chartered shares struggle to rebound after US lawmaker triggered $3bn sell-off August 18, 2025 Shares in Standard Chartered inched higher on Monday, but failed to fully recover from a dramatic sell-off at the end of last week that was triggered by a United States congresswoman. The bank’s stock nudged up by one percent as markets opened, reaching 1,319.50. But, this remained far below the 1,407 price point prior to [...]
Banks ombudsman fights for relevance amid Treasury crackdown August 18, 2025 The Financial Ombudsman Service is battling against a litany of obstacles as the government looks to “fundamentally” change its regulatory makeup. The organisation was rocked earlier this year by a leadership crisis following the abrupt departure of chief executive Abby Thomas in February. A Treasury Committee report, published in July, revealed Thomas had been dismissed [...]
The five fintech segments to watch August 18, 2025 Global fintech funding slumped to its worst half-year in five years in the first six months of 2025. Investment reached $44bn (£32.47bn), falling from $54.2bn the year prior, whilst the number of deals fell from 2,376 to 2,216. Weak investment in the three months to June 31 2025, hurt the headline figures, with just $18.7bn [...]
Klarna’s losses worsen as provisions jump ahead of IPO August 14, 2025 Buy now, pay later giant Klarna reported a surge in losses for the second quarter as provisions for possible bad loans climbed higher. The Swedish fintech unicorn posted a 64 per cent jump in provisions to $174m (£128m), up from $106m for the same period in 2024. This helped offset revenue growth of 20 per [...]
Secure Trust Bank: Deposits hit record high as loan book swells August 14, 2025 Specialist lender Secure Trust Bank posted a bumper first half of the year after customer deposits smashed a record high and lending balances swelled. The firm recorded a 8.2 per cent increase in deposits to £3.5bn whilst net landing balances grew 6.1 per cent to £3.8bn. This helped drive an over 30 per cent jump [...]
Zilch hikes provisions amid ‘record year’ for customer growth August 13, 2025 UK fintech Zilch raised its provisions for losses in the last year as demand for buy now, pay later services ballooned. The London-headquartered firm raised provisions for credit losses – funds set aside to cover estimated losses from failed repayments – to £27.4m – a 116 per cent jump from £12.7m the year prior. Credit [...]
A Rachel Reeves and Andrew Bailey clash risks Britain’s stablecoin dream August 13, 2025 A Rachel Reeves and Bank of England clash risks derailing Britain’s stablecoin dream as the country plays catchup in the over £200bn market. The Chancellor referenced plans to drive forward “developments in blockchain technology including… stablecoin” in her 2025 Mansion House speech. But Reeves faces an obstacle to push her plans in the form of [...]
Demand for City lawyers surges amid motor finance scandal August 13, 2025 Lawyers are facing questions after the Supreme Court's motor finance ruling left the door open for consumer claims
S&U shares jump as bank predicts profit ‘resurgence’ August 12, 2025 Shares in specialist lender S&U rallied as markets opened on Tuesday after the bank said its “resurgence in profitability” had begun to materialise. The London-listed firm’s stock was up over three per cent in early trading to 1,940. The jump came after the lender provided an upbeat trading update, anticipating building momentum for the second [...]