Banks called on to slash mortgage borrowing costs May 7, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has called on lenders to take informed risks in the mortgage market to improve consumer support. The City regulator has launched a consultation on mortgage rules which targets reducing the overall cost of borrowing through term reductions and access to cheaper products when remortgaging. It said discussions will include “consideration [...]
Vanquis and Barclays lead surge in bank complaints amid motor finance May 7, 2025 Banking complaints rocketed by 76 per cent in the second half of 2024 as the motor finance scandal continued to haunt the sector, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The regulator revealed of the 141,846 complaints made to the FOS, 77 per cent were related to banking and credit at 109,155. This also marked [...]
FTSE 100 lenders cash in on market turmoil but provisions climb May 5, 2025 FTSE 100 banking giants saw trading income spike in the first quarter as investors sold-off stocks in the face of geopolitical tensions, but tariff threats continued to weigh on future earnings. HSBC kicked off reporting season pocketing a $9.5bn (£7.1bn) pre-tax profit, which surged ahead of the $7.8bn pencilled in by analysts. Barclays and Natwest [...]
Bank of America analysts slap ‘buy’ rating on Barclays shares May 1, 2025 Bank of America analysts gushed over Barclays’ first-quarter performance, reiterating their ‘buy’ rating on the stock. Analysts said that while geopolitical-related concerns ahead of results were understandable, the lender “printed a strong set of numbers”. The FTSE 100 bank booked a £2.7bn pre-tax profit, ahead of the £2.5bn pencilled in. This was boosted by income [...]
Lloyds’ finance boss slams ring-fencing amid waning growth forecast May 1, 2025 Lloyds‘ finance boss raised the alarm on lenders’ ability to help drive growth due to restrictions from the ring-fencing regime. The bank trimmed its UK GDP expectations and has projected a rise in unemployment in the latest warning sign for the health of the British economy. The FTSE 100 giant pencilled in 0.2 per cent [...]
Lloyds costs soar as lender increases provisions after tariff turmoil May 1, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s profit took a hit in the first three months of the year as the domestic-focused bank’s operating costs soared. The FTSE 100 giant, which includes Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, met analyst expectations for pre-tax profit at £1.5bn – marking a seven per cent drop from the first quarter of 2024. [...]
Mark Kleinman: Is Reeves about to rip up ring-fencing? May 1, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column Is Reeves about to rip up ring-fencing? Rachel Reeves rips up ring-fencing: it’s an alliteration aficionado’s dream headline. It’s also an increasingly realistic one, following an intervention by a quartet of UK bank chiefs last week [...]
Barclays boss breaks from FTSE 100 peers on Reeves lobbying April 30, 2025 The chief executive of Barclays has defended the ring-fencing regulation facing British banks, despite his FTSE 100 peers calling on the Chancellor to abolish it. CS Venkatakrishnan told Sky News on Wednesday morning that the benefits of protection offered by the rules outweigh the costs of implementing and administering the system. The UK’s ring-fencing regime [...]
Barclays shares jump as investment arm cashes in on market storm April 30, 2025 Barclays enjoyed a bumper first three months of 2025 as its investment and private banking arms cashed in on market volatility. The bank’s share rose over 1.5 per cent during early trading on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 giant’s investment bank bolstered income by 16 per cent to £3.9bn, compared to £3.3bn from the same period [...]
HSBC and Barclays shareholders eye returns as tariffs cloud banks’ reports April 28, 2025 The FTSE 100’s ‘Big Five’ banks are gearing up for first-quarter results season – and shareholders will be eyeing how lenders set the tone for the year ahead. HSBC will kick off reports on Tuesday, followed by Barclays on Wednesday and Lloyds on Thursday. Natwest and Standard Chartered will round off the results week on [...]