Barclays names Fractile and Isomorphic Labs among UK’s top AI startups May 18, 2026 Barclays has named AI chip startup Fractile and Google DeepMind spinout Isomorphic Labs among Britain’s top AI companies as investors race to back the next generation of UK tech champions. The banking giant’s Eagle Labs division unveiled its new AI 100 ranking this week, spotlighting the country’s fastest-growing AI businesses amid a record year for [...]
Starmer drama: Traders bet against UK as short-selling on pound and banks surges May 14, 2026 Traders are betting against the UK as the political storm in Westminster continues to send jitters through asset markets. The pound has tumbled to a two-week low against the dollar, clinging onto the $1.35 mark on Thursday morning. Meanwhile, figures from IG revealed that short-positioning on the pound-dollar, a bet that the price will further [...]
Mark Kleinman: Could Wells Fargo bank on a megadeal with Barclays? May 14, 2026 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his City AM column Could Wells Fargo bank on a mega-deal with Barclays? Now this really would liven up London’s M&A market. Since the turn of the year, the City rumour mill has persistently buzzed with talk of the biggest deal [...]
Barclays mortgage subsidiary makes £5bn balance sheet whoopsie May 12, 2026 Don’t you just hate it when you mix up millions with billions? No one is immune from such mistakes. Including, as it turns out, one of Britain’s biggest banks. A subsidiary of Barclays, the Kensington Mortgage Company, last week published its accounts. While revenue was up slightly to £83.4m, pre-tax profit fell by 90 per [...]
Barclays and Lloyds shares sink as political storm puts banks in tax sights May 12, 2026 The UK’s banking giants led a major sell-off across the FTSE 100 this morning as a combination of political hazards hit the London stock market. Barclays was the top faller on the index shortly after market open, shedding over four per cent to 410.65p. Natwest was not far behind, also losing over four per cent [...]
Barclays consumer spending drops for first time since 2024 May 12, 2026 Consumers using Barclays credit and debit cards cut their spending for the first time in 17 months in the latest sign of turmoil facing the global economy. Total spending was down 0.1 per cent year-on-year marking the first drop since November 2024, where Brits were feeling the pinch of Labour’s first Budget. Consumers mainly drew [...]
Motor finance compensation scheme hanging by a thread amid legal row May 8, 2026 The City watchdog has told lenders to prepare for the “alternative scenario of no scheme” in the long-running motor finance scandal as another legal showdown brews. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has received four legal challenges including from lenders Volkswagen Financial Services, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Crédit Agricole Auto Finance. On the consumer side, the [...]
FTSE 100 banks are facing £2.5bn of headwinds – HSBC and Barclays are in the firing line May 6, 2026 The FTSE 100’s Big Five banks toasted a healthy profit stash in the first-quarter, but, says Samuel Norman, storm clouds are gathering on the horizon for the sector. The London market’s five biggest banks swallowed a bitter cocktail of economic risks in the first three months of the year leaving a bumper cash haul overshadowed [...]
HSBC profit drops after Iran war and private credit charges bite May 5, 2026 HSBC missed its profit target in the first quarter of the year after the blue-chip lender booked a mammoth credit charge. The FTSE 100 giant – which boasts a huge £230bn market cap – recorded a pre-tax profit of $9.4bn (£6.5bn), missing the $9.6bn pencilled in by analysts. This figure is also down $100m on [...]
‘Alarming’ lack of private credit understanding in finance bosses May 5, 2026 The elusive nature of the private credit industry has been called further into question with fresh data revealing less than one in five financial services leaders fully understand their exposure to the sector. A fresh report from Big Four firm KPMG has found just 14 per cent of financial services executives believe they are fully [...]