As it happened: Stocks jump as oil drops; Unilever shares soar on decade-best sales July 28, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. It’s Tuesday and the UK’s blue-chip index has made strong gains following a peaky start to the day. The markets took a boost yesterday after oil dropped back after reaching two-month highs of more than $100 per barrel last week when the Iran backed-Houthis took responsibility for tanker [...]
A £3bn reckoning that will reshape buy now, pay later July 15, 2026 Buy now, pay later providers are cheering the arrival of new regulations.In this week’s column Samuel Norman considers how the industry could be reshaped. Five years ago, the government revealed plans to crack down on the buy now, pay later market after an industry review found financial risks posed by the ease with which consumers [...]
Barclays and Lloyds back calls to digitalise UK markets and unlock £33bn boost July 13, 2026 Top financial institutions have rallied behind a new report calling for the government to accelerate the digitalisation of UK markets to deliver a £33bn annaul boost to the economy. The paper, backed by a 54-strong taskforce that includes the likes of Barclays, JP Morgan and Lloyds Banking Group, says the tokenisation of markets could add [...]
Rachel Reeves to unveil next steps for ring-fencing reform at Mansion House July 13, 2026 Rachel Reeves will outline the next steps of her ring-fencing reforms at Mansion House on Tuesday, City AM can reveal, in what is expected to be one of her last acts in the Treasury. The Chancellor will launch a consultation to seek industry input on the implementation of a package of reforms announced in May, including the [...]
Motor finance war of words heats up as City watchdog blasts law firm’s motives July 8, 2026 A blistering war of words has broken out between the City watchdog and the firms leading the consumer legal challenge to its £9bn motor finance scheme. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has urged the Upper Tribunal to throw out the case entirely as it slammed Courmacs Legal and its client Consumer Voice, for a serious [...]
Canary Wharf’s reinvention is a triumph July 1, 2026 Seven years ago, almost to the day, I found myself leaning backwards over the ledge at the very top of the Barclays tower in Canary Wharf. I exchanged a glance with the then Lord Mayor, Peter Estlin (a former Barclays exec, incidentally) to my left before pushing off like a commando and conducting a flawless, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]