Nationwide income soars on consumer lending boost May 21, 2026 Nationwide booked a hefty jump in its annual income as the building society benefited from a boost in consumer lending and clawed out a bigger market share of mortgage balances. The mutual recorded a 22 per cent jump in total income to £6.4bn, which was up from £5.2bn in the previous year, led by a [...]
Emergency lifeline for collapsed banks doubled to £3bn May 18, 2026 The emergency credit fund that serves as a lifeline for collapsed lenders has been doubled as a result of “recent regulatory and operational developments”. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) – working in tandem with the Treasury and Bank of England – has hiked its revolving credit facility capacity to £3bn from £1.45bn previously. The [...]
After Santander’s TSB takeover – who are the top players in UK banking? May 1, 2026 Santander shocked the City last years after beating out its rivals to snap up TSB Bank. Now with the takeover complete, who are the major players in the sector? The near £3bn mega-merger of Santander and TSB has finally reached completion. And with it, Spanish-owned Santander is set to significantly beef up its UK presence [...]
AI could trigger a PPI level scandal in ‘two weeks’ April 29, 2026 A multi-billion pound scandal like PPI could happen within just “two weeks” as UK finance firms plough ahead with deploying AI despite uncertainty around governance standards, a fresh report has claimed. The UK’s financial services sector faces a “capability gap” when deploying AI, according to a report from regulatory compliance firm Zango. The research pulled [...]
Banking on a storm: Natwest weathers first of AGM climate rows April 29, 2026 Natwest faced a prickly time in its Edinburgh AGM and in this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at whether fun and games could be in store for its peers. Also on the agenda this week – Revolut heads for some Spanish sun. Natwest chair Rick Haythornthwaite suffered a thorny reception on Tuesday at the bank’s [...]
Motor finance lenders warned of ‘gridlock’ as £9bn scandal clogs rearview April 27, 2026 The UK’s top banks are gearing up to put the long-running motor finance scandal in the rearview mirror but warning lights on the dashboard suggest they may still face “gridlock” on the multi-billion pound saga. FTSE 250 lender Vanquis became the latest on Monday to confirm it would not lodge a legal challenge against the [...]
Wall Street bankers’ bonuses leapfrog City in ‘less impressive’ year April 14, 2026 Wall Street bankers have leapfrogged ahead of the City as the industry’s swelling bonus pot proved “far less impressive” than prior expectations. In the US, the average bonus scored was $154,344 (£114,00) in 2025, marking a 5.85 per cent uplift from the year prior. This also topped the industry average growth of 4.4 per cent. [...]
European banking jobs face AI reset ‘not mass job losses – for now’ April 10, 2026 European banking jobs are in line for a boost from AI despite widespread fears the integration of new tech will trigger mass layoffs, according to fresh analysis. The headcount at the top lenders is expected to get a four per cent average uplift, analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence said in a new note. The increase is [...]
UK’s best bank revealed – and it’s not a bank April 9, 2026 The UK banking sector’s top bank has been crowned – and (spoiler) it’s not a bank. A new report from Forbes and market research firm Statista analysed the global banking system for the world’s top names in the sector. Over 54,000 people were surveyed across 34 countries in 17 different languages between October and November [...]
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 [...]