Standard Life snaps up Aegon UK for £2bn to create savings giant Investing Standard Life has snapped up the UK’s largest investment platform Aegon UK in a £2bn deal. The FTSE 100 giant – previously known as Phoenix Group – said the deal would create the UK’s top retirement savings and income business with near 16m customers and £480bn in assets under administration. Standard Life expects an annual [...]
‘Complex risks’: Jamie Dimon strikes cautious tone as JP Morgan profit beats target Banking JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon struck a cautious tone on Tuesday as the Wall Street bank revealed a major bump to its bottom line on the back of a boom in investment banking. The US banking giant recorded a net income of $16.5bn in the first-quarter, up 13 per cent from the same period in [...]
Goldman Sachs beats trading haul record by $1bn after Iran volatility Banking Goldman Sachs equities traders have beaten their all-time quarterly high as the Wall Street titan revealed a major market haul amidst the volatility triggered by the Middle East. The banking giant’s stock division reaped $5.3bn (£3.9bn) in revenue for the first quarter of the year, surpassing the previous record of $4.3bn secured by the bank [...]
Standard Chartered shares fall as finance boss exits for Apollo February 10, 2026 The finance boss of Standard Chartered has made a swift exit from the bank as he takes up a top job at asset manager Apollo. Diego De Giorgi, who joined the bank in September 2023 before becoming chief financial officer in January 2024, stepped down to lead Apollo’s European, Middle East and Africas region. The [...]
Barclays kicks off £15bn shareholder bonanza after profit rises February 10, 2026 Barclays kickstarted plans to dish out heaps of cash to shareholders on Tuesday after the bank’s profit breezed ahead of expectations for the 2025 financial year. The FTSE 100 giant launched a fresh £1bn share buyback after pre-tax profit soared 13 per cent in the last 12 months to £9.1bn. This came ahead of internal [...]
Business chiefs shift investment plans amid geopolitical tensions February 9, 2026 Top UK company bosses are being forced to shift or ditch their investment strategies amid rising geopolitical and trade tensions. The latest EY-Parthenon chief executive outlook survey – which surveyed 100 UK bosses – showed nearly 80 per cent had switched up investment plans due to developments in international trade policy and wider political pressures. [...]
Goldman Sachs leads Wall St boom amid trading frenzy and deal-making January 16, 2026 Wall Street giants were riding high following this week’s round of earnings updates after months market volatility and deal-making helped take trading revenue to record highs. Goldman Sachs led the surge pocketing $4.3bn in equities trading revenue in the last three months of the year – a record for Wall Street banks. Meanwhile, the banks [...]
EU banking rules could ‘choke investment’ from booming City January 14, 2026 The European Union threatens derailing its economic growth through changes to banking regulation after London beefed up its lending capacity following a Brexit boom. The 27-state bloc is set to bring in new legislation which will effectively ban non-EU banks from providing core banking services – such as lending and taking deposits – without establishing [...]
UK fintech stamps its authority on Europe but faces global threats January 8, 2026 The UK tightened the grip on its European fintech crown in the last year but came under growing pressure from fast-growing competitors ramping up their influence. A surge in investment in the second half of 2025 helped UK fintech hold onto the second place spot for total investment. The UK attracted $3.6bn (£2.7bn) last year, [...]
Goldman Sachs’ Solomon plays down private credit fears October 29, 2025 Top Wall Street executives have downplayed the likelihood of a private credit downturn sparking a wider economic crisis, despite a string of major lenders setting aside billions of dollars to manage potential defaults on their balance sheets. Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon dismissed the growing chorus of voices warning that tremors in the private credit [...]