King’s Speech to unleash wave of City reforms April 26, 2026 A host of City of London reforms will be set in stone at next month’s King’s Speech, as the Prime Minister hopes to use the moment to turn a corner from doubts over his leadership. Impending reforms, including scrapping the payments watchdog and overhauling the financial ombudsman, are set to be legislated in the financial [...]
Motor finance and wealth progress in spotlight for Lloyds earnings April 24, 2026 Investors will be looking for old wounds to be heal and crucial updates on expansion progress when Lloyds Banking Group gives its first-quarter update next week. The FTSE 100 banking titan – which is frequently cited as the UK’s most-traded stock – will give markets an insight into how it started the new year on [...]
‘Wake-up call’ for UK financial firms as internal control failures drive £1bn fines April 24, 2026 UK financial services firms, which faced £1bn worth of fines since 2021 for internal control failings, should be “seriously concerned”, says the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA). More than half of the 97 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enforcement cases analysed by CIIA relate to firms “not getting the basics right”, with many linked [...]
Top boss at UK’s largest property fintech ousted for non-financial misconduct April 23, 2026 A top executive at the UK’s largest property fintech has been ousted following allegations of non-financial misconduct, City AM has learnt. Hugo Davies, the former chief capital officer at Lendinvest, is understood to have been dismissed from the company after a whistleblower penned a letter to the chair of the company, along with the City [...]
FCA crypto U-turn – everything retail investors need to know April 22, 2026 After banning crypto Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) for retail customers in January 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reversed its position in October 2025, meaning retail investors can once again purchase exchange-listed crypto instruments, such as ETNs. According to FCA research, conducted in conjunction with YouGov, 91 per cent of UK consumers are aware of cryptoassets. [...]
Clearbank deposits balloon amid growth at Revolut and Coinbase April 15, 2026 The banking backbone behind the likes of Revolut and Coinbase has recorded a surge in deposits and revenue as client activity hit record levels Clearbank, which launched in 2017 to provide banking infrastructure and embedded services to challengers, posted a 65 per cent jump in deposits in 2025, reaching £17.8bn. The growth came as the [...]
Close Brothers and First Rand look to park motor finance row April 8, 2026 After countless speed bumps, sharp handbreak turns and a fair few false starts, the two banks that took the motor finance scandal to the top finally look to put it in the rearview mirror. Close Brothers and Aldermore owner First Rand have sought to wrap up the over two-year long saga after the financial watchdog [...]
‘Make the process look less scary’: UK banking licence applications hit zero in 2025 April 8, 2026 The number of applicants for UK banking licences plummeted to zero in 2025, raising questions over the government and regulators’ capacity to foster competition and attract overseas investment. The fresh figures – revealed in a Freedom of Information request by financial regulation consultancy Pathlight Associates – show a steep fall from the 11 licence bids [...]
Close Brothers shares soar as bank ‘well positioned’ for £320m motor finance hit April 8, 2026 Close Brothers has insisted it is “well positioned” to absorb the financial hit from the City watchdog’s motor finance redress scheme but added to speculation another legal battle could be on the horizon. The FTSE 250 lender told markets on Wednesday morning that it estimates the cost of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) redress scheme [...]
Blue Owl caps private credit redemptions after investors try to pull $5.4bn April 2, 2026 Investors in Blue Owl’s multi-billion dollar private credit fund have asked to withdraw around a fifth of their money in another dramatic escalation of jitters across Wall Street and the financial ecosystem. The asset manager’s flagship $36bn fund saw redemption requests hit 21.9 per cent of outstanding shares in the first quarter, while its tech-focused [...]