Big banks bet on gold rally as metals channel meme stock February 3, 2026 It’s all over for doughnuts and cameras as social media’s retail investors set their sights on a new favourite investment meme. Precious metals’ start to 2026 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. Gold rose 65 per cent last year, hitting multiple fresh records as geopolitical tensions flared. Investors flocked to the traditional safe-haven asset [...]
Mandelson to Epstein: JP Morgan should ‘threaten’ UK over banker tax February 2, 2026 Lord Peter Mandelson told Jeffrey Epstein that the boss of banking giant JP Morgan should “mildly threaten” the UK Treasury over a tax on banker bonuses whilst the peer was serving as business secretary. New bombshell revelations in the latest drop of the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice showed Mandelson, who worked [...]
Find me a blander corporate rebrand than This Bank January 29, 2026 What’s in a name? The corporate rebrand for This Bank is insipid and lacks imagination, says Simon Hunt. Marketing strategies are hard to get right. Coming up with a new name, a new logo, a new motto is riddled with danger. I don’t begrudge those paid to have a go at it. A litany of [...]
Full map of closures: Santander axes another 44 branches putting 291 jobs at risk January 29, 2026 Santander has made another cull to its branch network as the Spanish banking giant ploughs ahead with its digital transformation. The lender said it would close another 44 branches, which will put 291 jobs at risk of redundancy, as the bank turns its focus to its digital offer to keep at pace with its fintech [...]
Lloyds shares rally after profit boost and £1.8bn buyback January 29, 2026 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group jumped on Thursday as the bank launched a £1.8bn share buyback after breezing past profit expectations in the 2025 financial year. The FTSE 100 banking giant recorded a 12 per cent jump to pre-tax profit in the full-year netting £6.7bn and easily surpassing the £6.4bn pencilled in by internal analysts. [...]
Nationwide reigns supreme in bank switch war as Santander falters January 29, 2026 Nationwide maintained its top spot in the tussle for current account switchers in the third quarter of 2025 as the mutual sweetened its offer for new joiners. The building society – which was slapped with a £44m fine in December for failing to flag Covid fraud – secured a net gain of 41,450 switchers after [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Pound at 2021 high as Trump shrugs at dollar woes January 28, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Has the mining sector’s rally finally run out of steam? It appeared so on Tuesday, where City banks helped lift the FTSE 100 out of the red as miners across the board sank despite the ever-increasing price of precious metals. Fresnillo – the best performing [...]
Bailey warns of ‘urgent need’ to improve resilience in non-bank finance January 28, 2026 The Governor of the Bank of England has warned of an “urgent need” to improve the resilience of the sprawling network of financial firms lending beyond the traditional banking sector. Andrew Bailey said that the financial sector was significantly more robust than it had been before the financial crisis, but warned that regulators still faced [...]
Public finance bodies need more clarity, says boss of Reeves’ wealth fund January 28, 2026 The boss of Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has admitted British entrepreneurs want more clarity across public finance bodies as concerns rise over the growing number of institutions. Former RBS boss Oliver Holbourn, who the Chancellor appointed last July to lead the National Wealth Fund (NWF), said “people want more confidence in who they’re going [...]
Donald Trump hits JP Morgan and Jamie Dimon with $5bn lawsuit January 23, 2026 President Donald Trump has JP Morgan and its top boss, Jamie Dimon, in a $5bn (£3.7bn) lawsuit following claims the banking giant debanked him for political reasons. Earlier this month, Trump blasted America’s biggest bank for “incorrect and inappropriately” discriminating against him after the President alleged JP Morgan stopped offering him services after the Capitol riots [...]