Metro Bank returns to profit amid specialist lending pivot February 27, 2025 Metro Bank swung back to profitability in the second half of the year as the bank pressed on with a move away from retail banking and towards specialist lending. The high street bank pulled ahead of guidance in its full-year posting, after a strong performance in the second half of 2024. The FTSE 250 lender [...]
Metro Bank sells personal loan book in switch to specialist lending February 26, 2025 Metro Bank is set to sell its £584m portfolio of unsecured personal loans as the lender switches prioritisation to specialist lending. The disposal, which was first flagged as a possibility at the end of January, will generate £11m in gains for the FTSE 250 bank. The deal – with an undisclosed buyer – comes ahead [...]
Nine in ten six-figure earners say they are not wealthy February 26, 2025 An annual income of £213,000 has been declared the benchmark for ‘wealth‘ according to new research from HSBC. HSBC UK’s new report ‘Your Money’s Worth: Defining Wealth in 2025’ revealed nine in 10 high earners do not consider themselves wealthy, with only one per cent of the population identifying as so. The top four per [...]
Monument Bank partners with fintech Firenze February 25, 2025 Monument Bank has entered a partnership with fintech Firenze to boost the lender’s stronghold among its mass-affluent consumer base. The challenger bank gave Firenze a £160m backing with the aim to scale up its Lombard loan offering for wealth management firms. The Manchester-headquartered fintech, which is just over a year old, offers loans against secure [...]
Zopa doubles office footprint in move to Canary Wharf February 25, 2025 Fintech unicorn Zopa is set to double its office footprint with plans to relocate to a new headquarters in Canary Wharf. The new office, located at 20 Water Street in Canary Wharf, will span 44,000 square feet and host Zopa’s 900 current employees. The British digital bank, which was founded in 2020, said the move [...]
FTSE 100 lenders pocket record total profit February 21, 2025 Standard Chartered was the last of the FTSE 100’s biggest banks to release its annual results, as analysts praised the strong performance across all of the Big Five. Barclays, HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds and Standard Chartered booked an all-time high of £50.3bn in profit in 2024 and returned £35bn to investors. Russ Mould, investment director at [...]
Ex-Lloyds executive wants to ‘fintech’ mortgages February 21, 2025 A former Lloyds executive wants to accelerate the mortgage process by bringing AI into the mix. Stuart Cheetham worked at Lloyds bank for over a decade, spanning senior roles across Asia. He was chief executive in Hong Kong and managing director in Japan. However, since departing the Big Four bank, Cheetham founded his own company [...]
Lloyds shares jump despite profit slump February 20, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s shares jumped three per cent following market open, despite recording a profit hit after the firm set aside additional funds for potential motor finance payouts. The FTSE 100 lender’s pre-tax profit was down 20 per cent at £6bn, compared to £7.5bn in 2023. Analysts estimated the bank’s profit before tax at £6.5bn, [...]
UK banks differ from US on AI strategy February 20, 2025 Banks in the UK are more likely to focus artificial intelligence (AI) strategy on improving customer experience compared to their US rivals, a new report has revealed. NTT Data’s ‘Intelligent Banking in the Age of AI’ found 52 per cent of UK banks were using AI to enhance customer services, rather than cut jobs. This [...]
HSBC shares dip after profit beats expectations February 19, 2025 HSBC surpassed analyst profit expectations in its annual results as its new boss reiterated its focus on slashing costs. The FTSE 100 lender published its first set of results with Georges Elhedery at the helm this morning, covering the fourth quarter and full-year 2024. Shares in the banking giant rose one per cent following market open, [...]