Halifax ends 173-year high street run as Lloyds ditches branding July 1, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group is set to ditch its Halifax brand in a move that will end the retail bank’s 173-year run on the high street. The FTSE 100 titan – whose subsidiaries also include Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows – said on Wednesday it would rebrand Halifax under the central moniker of Lloyds. Lloyds [...]
Natwest hit with £250m lawsuit tied to Thurrock Council scandal July 1, 2026 Natwest could be on the hook for more than a quarter of a billion pounds for allegedly aiding a businessman in secretly transferring funds from his investment firm. The FTSE 100 giant’s subsidiary – the Royal Bank of Scotland – has been engulfed in the collapse of Rockfire Group, which was triggered by a fraud [...]
UK banks’ digital ID bid is a game of optics – and the odds are not in their favour July 1, 2026 A digital ID row has dominated headlines in the last year, and banks are set to join the row. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at what they might be in for. Britain’s banks have voluntarily thrown themselves into one of the most toxic culture wars of the decade. Few subjects evoke [...]
Lloyds accused of debanking left-wing media outlet The Canary June 30, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group has been accused of debanking the left-wing news website The Canary in a move that has left the media outlet with “barely any funds”. The bank was slammed by the media firm on Tuesday for allegedly “withholding a substantial amount of our money” and debanking them after nearly a decade of use. [...]
Barclays splashes £750m on Canary Wharf base in ‘strong endorsement’ of London June 30, 2026 Barclays has taken control of its global headquarters based out of Canary Wharf in a £750m deal hailed as a “strong endorsement” of the financial district and the capital itself. The blue-chip lender has entered a long-term leasehold interest agreement with Canary Wharf Group that grants the bank to use the property – based at [...]
Mercedes-Benz slammed for swerving payout for car with ‘serious safety risk’ June 29, 2026 Mercedes-Benz’s finance arm has been slammed by the UK’s banks ombudsman for “very poor” handling of a motor finance dispute where a consumer’s car showed “serious” electrical faults. The financial services arm of the German carmaker has been ordered to refund with interest 50 per cent of all monthly payments made by a customer after [...]
Barclays and Lloyds join banking sector plan for digital ID June 25, 2026 Barclays and Lloyds are among a group of top UK lenders working on a plan that would see customers able to use digital identification tools in their banking app. The collective of banks – which also includes HSBC, Nationwide, Natwest and Santander – are working with industry body UK Finance on a process where users’ [...]
UK banks fear a ‘disaster’ with Ed Miliband as Chancellor June 24, 2026 City banks are fretting over the prospect of Ed Miliband as Chancellor as Andy Burnham mulls who he will give the keys to Number 11. The banking industry is bracing for a shake-up at the Treasury and fears it could be hit with a fresh raft of taxes under a new Chancellor while key deregulatory [...]
Badenoch sets sights on battle with the Bank June 24, 2026 The City is in the mood for a regulatory bonfire and Kemi Badenoch hopes to be the one to light the flame. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman looks at the roadblocks she may face on her pursuit. “Don’t forget about Andrew Bailey.” That was the parting shot I got from a former Bank of [...]
A decade after Brexit, what does the City want next? June 24, 2026 The 46th floor of the iconic One Canada Square building was once home to the European Banking Authority. Towering over a sea of skyscraper headquarters adorned with the biggest names in finance, the watchdog’s office was both a nod to its regulatory might, turbocharged by the fallout from the 2008 crash, as well as to [...]