FTSE 100 lenders cash in on market turmoil but provisions climb May 5, 2025 FTSE 100 banking giants saw trading income spike in the first quarter as investors sold-off stocks in the face of geopolitical tensions, but tariff threats continued to weigh on future earnings. HSBC kicked off reporting season pocketing a $9.5bn (£7.1bn) pre-tax profit, which surged ahead of the $7.8bn pencilled in by analysts. Barclays and Natwest [...]
Standard Chartered shares rise as wealth arm booms after market unrest May 2, 2025 Standard Chartered shares edged up after the firm smashed profit expectations in the first quarter, but warned of the upcoming impact of geopolitical tensions. The bank’s stock rose nearly one per cent during early trading on Friday. The FTSE 100 lender booked $2.1bn (£1.6bn) in pre-tax profit, up from $1.9bn in the same period last [...]
Post Office extends banks’ cash deal as MPs call for mandated acceptance May 1, 2025 The Post Office has reached a five-year banking deal with lenders and building societies to keep cash services running amid a continued retreat of banks from the high street. This renewed deal follows research commissioned by the company, which found nine in ten people believe it is important to maintain access to cash. The partnership [...]
Lloyds’ finance boss slams ring-fencing amid waning growth forecast May 1, 2025 Lloyds‘ finance boss raised the alarm on lenders’ ability to help drive growth due to restrictions from the ring-fencing regime. The bank trimmed its UK GDP expectations and has projected a rise in unemployment in the latest warning sign for the health of the British economy. The FTSE 100 giant pencilled in 0.2 per cent [...]
Lloyds costs soar as lender increases provisions after tariff turmoil May 1, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s profit took a hit in the first three months of the year as the domestic-focused bank’s operating costs soared. The FTSE 100 giant, which includes Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, met analyst expectations for pre-tax profit at £1.5bn – marking a seven per cent drop from the first quarter of 2024. [...]
Labour to be handed ‘spying powers’ on bank accounts in Fraud Bill April 30, 2025 Labour is facing fresh questions over its Fraud Bill, which has been slammed for handing the government “spying powers”. The legislation, which passed in the Commons on Wednesday, bulks up the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) ability to recover money directly from fraudsters’ bank accounts. The DWP pledged the reforms would deliver “the biggest [...]
Barclays boss breaks from FTSE 100 peers on Reeves lobbying April 30, 2025 The chief executive of Barclays has defended the ring-fencing regulation facing British banks, despite his FTSE 100 peers calling on the Chancellor to abolish it. CS Venkatakrishnan told Sky News on Wednesday morning that the benefits of protection offered by the rules outweigh the costs of implementing and administering the system. The UK’s ring-fencing regime [...]
Barclays shares jump as investment arm cashes in on market storm April 30, 2025 Barclays enjoyed a bumper first three months of 2025 as its investment and private banking arms cashed in on market volatility. The bank’s share rose over 1.5 per cent during early trading on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 giant’s investment bank bolstered income by 16 per cent to £3.9bn, compared to £3.3bn from the same period [...]
HSBC shares jump as lender ups bad loan provisions after tariff chaos April 29, 2025 HSBC shares rose in early trading after the lender increased provisions for loan losses in its first-quarter report. The FTSE 100 giant’s stock jumped two per cent as trade war woes clouded the lender’s results. The bank raised expected credit losses to $876m (£653m), from $202m in a stark indication of firm’s outlook on the [...]
Bank of England ‘killing’ UK stablecoin ambitions, body warns April 29, 2025 The Bank of England risks “killing” London’s potential to become a global hub for stablecoins with its “prescriptive” rules, an industry body has warned, as it called for the rapid creation of a regulatory regime to support use of the digital assets. London’s dominance of the foreign exchange market, in which it accounts for as [...]