Exclusive: Starling’s top investor withdraws support for London IPO Fintech Starling’s elusive billionaire backer has gone cold on his ambition for the digital bank to list in London, City AM can reveal, in a move that will heighten fears of the fintech heading to New York for its highly-anticipated IPO. Harald McPike had lobbied for the group to launch its initial public offering in London [...]
Reeves told City at ‘critical juncture’ after claims of golden age Economics Rachel Reeves has been handed a firm warning that Britain’s financial ecosystem is facing a “critical juncture” even after the Chancellor touted a “golden age” of opportunity for the City. The Chancellor faces a call to action following a report from lobby group TheCityUK and Big Four consultancy giant PwC revealing the “hard truth” that [...]
Strap a rocket to UK banks or watch the City drift, shadow chancellor warns Banking Shadow chancellor Mel Stride has called for a tearing down of burdensome City regulation to power up the financial services sector and avoid it losing status. The Tory MP said the pendulum has swung “too far in favour of trying to iron… [and] squeeze risk out of the system”. Stride called for a “bonfire of [...]
Natwest chief: UK ‘closer to start than finish line’ on regulation mission December 2, 2025 The government’s mission to overhaul regulation still has a long distance to go, the boss of Natwest has said, as he warned of “trade-offs” in the pursuit of cutting red tape. Paul Thwaite, the chief executive of Natwest, praised the government and the City watchdog in edging forward in its regulation mission, referencing recent changes [...]
AI-powered regtech lands £2.1m to help banks dodge FCA fines November 13, 2025 An AI-powered regulation tech firm has landed £2.1m in funding to help banks avoid getting fines from the City watchdog. Adclear, which uses software to ensure lenders’ books are in order, has capped off a funding round which has included backing from Clearscore founder Dan Cobley and Coinbase’s UK managing director Keith Grose. With Adclear’s [...]
Rachel Reeves’ banking reforms ‘unlikely to be transformative’ November 3, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ financial services growth mission faces a major blow with top City voices warning her regulatory reforms won’t be transformative. The Chancellor unveiled her Leeds Reform package intended to “rewire the financial services industry” in July this year. Whilst the moves were cheered by industry bigwigs, analysts have raised concerns the changes will fail [...]
FCA orders lenders to pay £11bn in motor finance compensation October 7, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it expects lenders to make 14.2 million payouts to individuals affected by unfair motor finance agreements, totalling around £11bn in compensation. The FCA estimates people would receive around £700 per agreement, on average. It has also been calculated that around 85 per cent of eligible consumers would [...]
Banking watchdog launches deregulation push as tax fears grow September 22, 2025 Britain’s banking watchdog has laid out plans to slash regulation across the industry in a bid to sweeten the sector’s operating environment. In fresh proposals hoping to cut the red tape on the sector, the PRA identified 37 “individual reporting templates” which have “overlapping and complex requirements” in a bid to ease the administrative cost [...]
Overreaching banks are locking millions out of the crypto market August 22, 2025 Banks are locking millions out of the crypto market with arbitrary bans - this overreach needs to stop, writes Michael Healy.
S&U shares jump as bank predicts profit ‘resurgence’ August 12, 2025 Shares in specialist lender S&U rallied as markets opened on Tuesday after the bank said its “resurgence in profitability” had begun to materialise. The London-listed firm’s stock was up over three per cent in early trading to 1,940. The jump came after the lender provided an upbeat trading update, anticipating building momentum for the second [...]