Barclays and Natwest layoffs signal start of banking’s AI job squeeze Banking Barclays, Natwest, Lloyds and HSBC toasted to a £14n profit haul in the third-quarter but sweeping job cuts stole the show. Samuel Norman takes a look at what the last three months signal for the sector’s future. As bank leaders stepped up to the podium for third-quarter earnings, the agenda had already been set for [...]
Healey tells Bailey to loosen UK banking regulation after tax hike Banking John Healey has told Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to loosen banking regulation “as quickly as possible” after the government raised taxes on the sector in the Budget. The Chancellor wrote to Bailey following the Budget with a direction for the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) to balance its stability mandate with support for economic [...]
City grandees call for revival of ‘animal spirits’ on Big Bang anniversary Markets City grandees have called on the government to revive “animal spirits” in London’s capital markets and accelerate regulatory reform on the anniversary of the Big Bang. Industry leaders told City AM the City has enjoyed decades of success since the sweeping deregulation of the Square Mile in 1986 but Britain’s financial services industry is now [...]
HSBC shares sink after revenue misses expectations October 27, 2026 Shares in HSBC plunged this morning with billions wiped from its market value after the bank missed revenue expectations in the third-quarter. The FTSE 100 bank’s stock slid seven per cent in early trading to 1,269.0p in a move that shed around £16bn from the firm’s market capitalisation. It also put it on track to [...]
Barclays to axe 5,000 jobs by end of year after banking on AI savings October 22, 2026 Barclays will wield the axe on some 5,000 jobs in its global headcount as the firm ramps up its cost-cutting targets and leverages artificial intelligence. The FTSE 100 bank’s reductions will cover five per cent of the group’s global workforce and are expected to be mainly concentrated in support functions, including developers. “They’re across the [...]
What could a bank tax raid mean for JP Morgan’s Canary Wharf mega-tower? October 16, 2026 When Jamie Dimon and John Healey first exchanged remarks, the world’s most influential banker told the Chancellor how important it was to get public policy right. The Wall Street chief is understood to have said the right public policy was the key to solving the issues facing global economies, according to those close to the [...]
Healey’s ‘mixed messages’ on bank tax leave City blindsided October 16, 2026 The City was left reeling on Friday following reports that John Healey was drawing up plans to tax banks in the forthcoming Budget. Industry heavyweights across the UK have fired warning shots as Healey weighs up different options to target the banking industry with a hefty cash raid. One City figure told City AM a [...]
Lloyds and Barclays shares fall as Healey ‘poised’ to hike bank tax October 16, 2026 Shares in Britain’s banking giants tumbled this morning after new reports suggested John Healey is set to raise taxes on lenders when he delivers his first Budget at the end of the month. Natwest dropped two per cent to 660.40p, while Lloyds was down around 2.5 per cent to 103.40p. Barclays slid 0.4 per cent [...]
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 [...]
‘It’s hard to call the peak’: Wall Street banks land $22bn trading haul October 14, 2026 Traders at Wall Street’s biggest banks kept their blockbuster winning streak alive in the third-quarter as they made hay on volatility triggered by the war in Iran and swinging AI stocks. Equity trading divisions at the big six US banks – JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo – [...]