City watchdog probes Mastercard, Visa, Paypal for alleged anti-competitive conduct May 6, 2026 The City watchdog has confirmed it is investigating a trio of payments giants over alleged anti-competitive conduct. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will probe Mastercard, Paypal and Visa under the Competition Act 1998 regarding its suspected conduct related to the “funding and usage” of Paypal’s digital wallet. Paypal’s digital wallet is an app-based system that [...]
Mercedes Benz joins legal battle over £9bn motor finance scheme April 29, 2026 Mercedes Benz is confirmed to be among the four legal challenges lodged against the UK financial watchdog’s motor finance redress scheme. The financial services arm of the German car giant is set to challenge the scheme that puts the car finance industry on the hook for £9.1bn in compensation. The carmarker has thus far set [...]
Lloyds hit with highest FCA complaints as finance firms fork out £240m April 28, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group led the pack as the most complained about financial services group in the second half of 2025 as the industry forked out a near-quarter of a billion pounds to dissatisfied customers. Across its subsidiaries, the FTSE 100 giant was hit with a storm of 187,516 grievances to the UK’s financial watchdog in [...]
Motor finance lenders warned of ‘gridlock’ as £9bn scandal clogs rearview April 27, 2026 The UK’s top banks are gearing up to put the long-running motor finance scandal in the rearview mirror but warning lights on the dashboard suggest they may still face “gridlock” on the multi-billion pound saga. FTSE 250 lender Vanquis became the latest on Monday to confirm it would not lodge a legal challenge against the [...]
S&U takes ‘Margaret Thatcher’ approach as profit swells April 21, 2026 Specialist lender S&U recorded a major bump to profit in the last year as the bank said it was following the teachings of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The London-listed bank – which was founded in 1938 and once known as Sports and Utilities – posted a pre-tax profit of £31.8m in the year ending 5 [...]
Santander UK tipped for ‘large’ hike to motor finance provisions April 16, 2026 Santander UK is expected to top up its provisions for the motor finance scandal following the final outline of the financial watchdog’s redress scheme. The Spanish-headquartered banking giant has been one of the most vocal critics throughout the scandal, which relates to the use of discretionary commission arrangements (DCAS) in car financing. Banks were accused [...]
Close Brothers and First Rand look to park motor finance row April 8, 2026 After countless speed bumps, sharp handbreak turns and a fair few false starts, the two banks that took the motor finance scandal to the top finally look to put it in the rearview mirror. Close Brothers and Aldermore owner First Rand have sought to wrap up the over two-year long saga after the financial watchdog [...]
Close Brothers shares soar as bank ‘well positioned’ for £320m motor finance hit April 8, 2026 Close Brothers has insisted it is “well positioned” to absorb the financial hit from the City watchdog’s motor finance redress scheme but added to speculation another legal battle could be on the horizon. The FTSE 250 lender told markets on Wednesday morning that it estimates the cost of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) redress scheme [...]
Lloyds and Close Brothers shares rally as banks ‘assess’ impact of motor finance redress March 31, 2026 Shares in UK motor finance lenders had a volatile opening this morning as markets digested the final rules of the financial watchdog’s industry-wide redress scheme. Lloyds Banking Group – the owner of the nation’s largest motor finance lender Black Horse – crept up over one per cent in early trading to tip over the 92p [...]
FCA slashes banks’ motor finance payouts as compensation scheme finalised March 30, 2026 City banks are set to face a more than £9bn motor finance bill after the UK’s financial watchdog laid out plans for its long-awaited motor finance redress scheme in a major U-turn after months of backlash. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed the details of its industry-wide redress scheme for the car mis-selling saga on [...]