Braddick sets out her vision for banking watchdog with £2bn overhaul Banking Katharine Braddick has kicked off her revamp of the UK banking’s watchdog with a regulatory overhaul aiming to generate £2bn in savings for City firms. The Prudential Regulation Authority chief, who took the reins in July, told a City audience on Thursday evening the watchdog would focus on four key priorities of resilience, growth, innovation [...]
Threats to financial system ‘on steroids’ after AI boom, FCA chief warns Regulation The unchecked rise of artificial intelligence means the level of risk facing the financial system is currently “on steroids”, according to the boss of the Financial Conduct Authority, who warned that excessive “tick-box” rulemaking would fail to keep pace with increasingly complex threats. Speaking at a City of London dinner, Nikil Rathi said risks to [...]
Bank of England set to overshadow Healey’s Budget with interest rate hike Economics The Bank of England is expected to overshadow John Healey’s maiden Budget with a “done deal” interest rate hike aiming to tame soaring inflation while risking economic growth. Top City economists predict the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will raise the base rate at its November meeting, just one week after the Autumn Budget. [...]
Inflation leaps above expectations to 3.5 per cent October 21, 2026 Inflation jumped to 3.5 per cent in the 12 months to September as the UK economy looks set to suffer the damaging effects of energy price increases caused by the Iran war over the coming months. The consumer price index (CPI) reading rose above market expectations. This was also above last month’s figure of 3.1 [...]
Andy Haldane: This will be ‘a Budget for the backbenchers, not business’ October 20, 2026 A former Bank of England chief economist has warned he expects to see “further borrowing” and “further tax rises” in next week’s Budget as he threw his weight behind Kemi Badenoch’s plan on the UK economy. Speaking at an Ipsos event, Andy Haldane said the Budget has been a “less lengthy and a less leaky [...]
Job vacancies fall below 700,000 for first time in over five years October 20, 2026 Job vacancies have fallen below 700,000 for the first time in over five years, official data has shown, as the UK labour market continued to show signs of weakening. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said vacancy levels decreased in the three months to September by 21,000. It means the number of job vacancies stood [...]
Bailey: Businesses trying not to pass costs on to consumers October 16, 2026 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said businesses are resisting decisions to pass higher energy costs onto consumers and instead looking to narrow margins and find other savings. Speaking at an International Monetary Fund event in Bangkok, Bailey said firms were “clearly squeezing margins as well as cost cutting” in order to deal with [...]
Midday Markets: Is the UK economy ‘back’? October 15, 2026 The Midday Market report is a new newsletter from City AM, giving you fresh analysis on the biggest stories in the City straight into your inbox every lunchtime. Today, Ali Lyon, assesses whether August’s positive GDP figures are a sign of a revival in the UK economy. Sign up to the City AM News Updates [...]
UK banks could unleash cash buffers to spur economy, says top Bank of England regulator October 15, 2026 UK banks are holding excessively large “rainy-day funds” that could instead be deployed to boost economic activity, according to a top regulator at the Bank of England. David Bailey, executive director of Prudential Policy at the Bank of England, told City AM the watchdog had kicked off talks with international peers over how to simplify [...]
Bailey demands crackdown on ‘downright criminal’ social media fraud October 14, 2026 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has called on social media giants to take greater responsibility for online fraud, warning that the spread of scams and AI-generated content risks undermining trust in the financial system. Speaking at the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok on Wednesday, Bailey criticised tech platforms for facing little accountability [...]