Natwest sells HR advisory arm in latest structure overhaul March 25, 2026 Natwest has sold its human resources advisory arm to a private-equity backed rival in the latest deal by the banking giant on the road to streamlining its operations. The FTSE 100 titan has offloaded Mentor – its small business HR support service – to Empowering People Group, a specialist HR service backed by Limerston Capital. [...]
Revolut eyes trading and wealth push amid hiring spree March 24, 2026 Revolut has laid out its initial blue-print for major expansion in its trading operations after the fintech giant bagged its full-fat UK banking licence earlier this month. The $75bn digital banking juggernaut has kicked off a hiring spree at its Canary Wharf headquarters as well as other financial hubs across the globe. The fintech has [...]
HSBC job cut plans add to mounting AI warnings for banks March 19, 2026 HSBC is weighing up cutting as many as 20,000 jobs across its global business as part of a longer-term push towards automation and AI, forming the clearest signal yet of how the technology is beginning to reshape the banking workforce. According to reports, the lender is understood to be considering reductions equivalent to around 10 [...]
Is the motor finance scandal making City banks trim the fat? March 18, 2026 The motor finance scandal is reshaping the banking sector, in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at how lenders are responding. In the fallout of the multi-billion pound motor finance scandal, bank bosses are getting their house in order. The landmark saga, which began with the UK’s financial watchdog’s review into the market [...]
Starling on hunt for new chair as Deloitte veteran bows out March 17, 2026 UK fintech Starling is on the hunt for a new chair following the news the firm’s current head would exit later this year. Starling said on Tuesday that David Sproul, the bank’s chair since October 2021, would step down once a successor is appointed. Sproul joined Starling after a near two-decade long career at Big [...]
Oaknorth delays net zero goal as US expansion fuels lending boom March 17, 2026 UK fintech Oaknorth has slapped a ten year delay on its ambition to be a net zero bank as the firm’s expansion across the Atlantic picked up pace. The small business lender said it expects to meet net zero commitments by 2045, as opposed to previous guidance of 2035 set four years ago. Oaknorth said [...]
Close Brothers shares sink as infamous short-seller warns of motor finance ‘wipeout’ March 16, 2026 Shares in Close Brothers plummeted on Monday after a group notorious for short-selling warned the bank had “systematically misrepresented” its exposure to the motor finance scandal. The FTSE 250 bank nosedived as much as 12 per cent during afternoon trading after Viceroy Research, a group famed for its exposés of Wirecard and Home Reit, warned [...]
UK banking sector faces ‘AI-washing’ legal warning March 16, 2026 The UK’s banking sector is facing a new wave of regulatory AI warnings as bullish lenders race to rapidly beef up their tech capacity. Rosehana Amin, cyber and litigation partner at Clyde & Co LLP, warned banks may face a significant legal liability over misleading markets over their use of AI. Speaking at the City [...]
What happens now after Lloyds Bank’s tech disaster? March 13, 2026 Customers at Lloyds Banking Group were sent into panic on Thursday morning after a number of users opened their mobile app to find rogue transactions that did not belong to them. Screenshots quickly flooded social media with many of the bank’s 28m customers describing their horror at seeing up thousands of pounds of bizarre payments. [...]
Revolut’s triumph reminds us what British tech sector is capable of March 12, 2026 There hasn’t been much good news around lately – between the UK’s miserable growth trajectory, war in the Middle East and the whiff of decay in Downing Street, it’s been hard to find the optimism. But when something genuinely impressive happens in British business, it’s worth pausing to take notice. And this week we had [...]