Barclays’ high street U-turn exposes a divide in British banking April 8, 2026 Bank have ditched the high street over the last decade but is a comeback on the horizon? Samuel Norman explores the changes in this week’s column. In Westminster, the news cycle is never short of drama over U-turns. Subtle tweaks or direct bait-and-switches on policy are batted away by government spokespeople as mere “pivots” as [...]
Virgin Money swallowed up by Nationwide as top boss exits April 7, 2026 The boss of Virgin Money is set to depart the firm later this years as the UK bank fully consolidates into the Nationwide umbrella. Chris Rhodes took the reins at Virgin Money following its acquisition by Nationwide in late 2024. Before this post, Rhodes served as finance boss at the UK’s largest building society for [...]
Motor finance compensation to ‘to fire starting gun’ on banking M&A March 31, 2026 The financial watchdog’s long-awaited motor finance redress scheme is predicted to “fire the starting gun” on a wave of deals throughout the banking sector. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the final rules for its redress programme on Monday, with the bill for lenders expected to come in at just north of £9bn, down from [...]
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 profit booms after poaching record customers from high street banks March 24, 2026 Revolut revealed a major boom in its bottom line on Tuesday morning after the fintech giant poached a record amount of customers from its high street rivals. The $75bn digital banking titan posted a 57 per cent surge in group-wide profit to £1.7bn. It came as retail customers expanded by a record 16m as the [...]
Revolut poised to hit Natwest and Lloyds in deposit war March 20, 2026 Revolut’s long-awaited UK banking licence approval is set to trigger a “deposit war” that could hand a major blow to incumbent giants Natwest and Lloyds. The $75bn fintech juggernaut finally bagged its full-fat UK banking permit earlier this month after a four-year tussle with regulators. Analysts are expecting the move to send ripples across the [...]
Close Brothers to axe fifth of jobs after motor finance ‘wipeout’ warning March 17, 2026 Close Brothers has warned it will cull as much as a fifth of its headcount as the bank continued its aggressive cost-cutting strategy following mounting losses linked to the motor finance scandal. The FTSE 250 bank said it would axe a staggering 600 full-time roles by the end of the 2027 financial, which represents around [...]
Businesses ‘yearning for stability’ says UK bank chief March 13, 2026 Businesses are “yearning” for stability, according to a top banking chief executive, as the turmoil in the Middle East threatens to upend the global economy. Ian Corfield, the boss of London-listed Secure Trust Bank, told City AM: “I think the reality is that even before things kicked off a month ago, obviously nerves were increasing. [...]
Barclays set to cash in on market frenzy amid Middle East crisis March 5, 2026 Barclays and its UK banking peers could be set for a cash boost from the brewing crisis in the Middle East as investors quickly dump equities and fears of an inflation spike spread. FTSE 100 giant Barclays has been noted as uniquely shielded by analysts due to its mammoth market divisions. Jefferies analysts said the [...]
Metro Bank shares dip after SME lending pivot sees profit balloon March 4, 2026 Metro Bank has swung back into profit as the firm’s pivot into small business lending led to a bump in revenue. The FTSE 250 lender returned to profitability with a pre-tax profit of just north of £98m – a 15-year high and major clawback from losses of £14m last year. The swing came as Metro [...]