Natwest and Lloyds shares soar after escaping Budget tax raid November 26, 2025 Britain’s banking giants have managed to escape a tax raid in the Labour government’s second Autumn Budget. UK lenders have been in the hot seat on the road to 26 November, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves facing lobbying calls across the aisle. But as Rachel Reeves made a £26bn cash grab, which included bookies, landlords and [...]
Autumn Budget Live: Wealthy, landlords and pensions hit in £26bn tax raid November 26, 2025 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. In a shocking turn of events the UK fiscal watchdog has accidentally released the economic forecasts – intended to be published after the Budget – before the Chancellor even took to the despatch box. Rachel Reeves has raised taxes by £26bn in her second Budget, which follows on [...]
Budget whiplash: How bank shares were hit by the Treasury’s ‘hokey cokey’ leaking November 25, 2025 Last week the House of Commons speaker reprimanded the Treasury for what he called a “hokey cokey” Budget. “Can I just say it isn’t normal for a Budget to be put in the press,” Sir Lindsay Hoyle said in his dressing down of ministers. “One minute it’s in, next minute it’s out.” Few sectors have [...]
City of London policy chairman: Bank levy should be wound down November 24, 2025 Financial and professional services underpin the country’s global competitiveness. The Budget should support banks, writes Chris Hayward.
Klarna shares fall as banking transformation triggers wider losses November 18, 2025 Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna recorded steeper losses in the third-quarter as costs related to the firm’s transition to becoming a fully-fledged bank offset record revenue. The buy now, pay later firm – which has set its sights on becoming a digital bank – recorded a loss of $95m (£72m) for the three months ending 30 [...]
Banks back in Reeves’ tax targets amid Budget whiplash November 18, 2025 Britain’s banking giants are back in the Budget crosshairs as Chancellor Rachel Reeves mulls a tax raid on lenders’ profits. Banks had been expected to be spared from a tax grab in the forthcoming Budget due to Reeves’ inclination to protect the financial services sector, following a concerted lobbying effort by top finance chiefs. But [...]
Banking watchdog raises customer protection to £120,000 November 18, 2025 The UK banking watchdog has raised the cap for how much a customer can be paid if their provider fails. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has hiked the limit to £120,000 from £85,000 meaning additional customer funds will be protected if their lender collapses. The limits come under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which [...]
Lloyds and Natwest shares fall in ‘perfect combination’ of fears November 14, 2025 Lloyds and Natwest shares were among the top fallers on the FTSE 100 index on Friday as a combination of fears weighed upon City stocks. The FTSE 350 bank index lost 2.17 per cent over the course of the day amid a widespread sell off across the blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 fell 1.1 per [...]
HSBC on hunt for new Europe chief after top boss departs November 13, 2025 HSBC is on the new hunt for a new top boss at its continental Europe arm with its current chief set to depart at the end of the year. Europe’s largest lender said on Thursday that Andrew Wild would exit his role after nearly four years due to family reasons. Wild first joined the bank [...]
UK banks send regulation warning as private credit threat rises November 11, 2025 Top bosses of UK banks have fired a warning shot over the country’s status as a competitive financial hub as the government’s efforts to overhaul regulation risk missing the mark. Michael Roberts, the top boss of HSBC Bank and chief of corporate and institutional banking, told lawmakers on Tuesday the Treasury’s deregulation work was a [...]