Banks ombudsman complaints slump after Treasury overhaul February 5, 2026 Complaints to the banks ombudsman fell to the lowest level in two years in the last quarter of 2025 as changes from regulators and Treasury ease the caseload. Between October and December the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 47,300 complaints – a major drop from the 68,400 lodged the year prior. It also maintains a [...]
Secure Trust Bank sells motor finance arm after £21m hit February 5, 2026 Specialist lender Secure Trust Bank has offloaded its motor finance arm, becoming the latest UK bank to retreat from the sector, which has been wrapped up in scandal. The bank sold its remaining vehicle finance loan book to European Alternative Investment Fund Manager LCM Partners in a move expected to increase the bank’s CET1 ratio – a [...]
Barclays and Natwest set for bidding war in race to beef up wealth arms February 4, 2026 Barclays and Natwest are set for a bidding war as the banks prepare to make their play to snap up Evelyn Partners amid the race to beef up wealth management arms. The blue-chip lenders are both gearing up to table offers of over £2bn for the London-based wealth manager. A successful takeover would help enhance [...]
Mandelson branded a ‘naive sucker’ as he tried to build career post-government February 4, 2026 Peter Mandelson was branded “naive” and a “sucker” in new revelations from the Epstein files that shine a light on Mandelson’s efforts to build a career post-government. The Labour veteran told convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that he had sought the advice of financier Nathaniel Rothschild as he weighed up a role at advisory and investment banking [...]
Santander takes jab at City watchdog as motor finance bill balloons February 4, 2026 Santander has took another major swipe at the City watchdog after the banking giant hiked its provisions for the motor finance scandal. As it reported full-year results, the bank said its bill for the car mis-selling saga had reached £461m, building on a previous £295m provision. It follows the bank’s UK arm missing its third-quarter [...]
JP Morgan’s Chase sets sights on UK insurance market February 4, 2026 Global banking giant JP Morgan has set its sights on the UK insurance market with its consumer arm Chase set to enter the scene. The new offering, branded as Chase Protect, will envelope its essential coverage bundle into one single month fee, designed as an add-on for current account holders. While JP Morgan has operated [...]
Exclusive: Starling’s top investor withdraws support for London IPO February 4, 2026 Starling’s elusive billionaire backer has gone cold on his ambition for the digital bank to list in London, City AM can reveal, in a move that will heighten fears of the fintech heading to New York for its highly-anticipated IPO. Harald McPike had lobbied for the group to launch its initial public offering in London [...]
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 [...]
Bank of England names first fintech cohort for scale-up regulator February 3, 2026 The Bank of England has named the first handful of UK fintech talent which will be overseen by the new regulatory ‘Scale-Up’ unit. Small business lenders OakNorth and Allica Bank – which was named the fastest-growing fintech ever by Deloitte – were listed as two of the firms that had been accepted into the first [...]
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 [...]