British banking chiefs take a leaf from Elon Musk’s DOGE July 4, 2025 The chiefs of the UK’s Big Four banks are taking a leaf out of the Elon Musk playbook in their strident bid to slash costs. Natwest’s Paul Thwaite, Lloyds’ Charlie Nunn, HSBC’s Georges Elhedery and Barclays’ CS Venkatkrishnan are in the midst of major cost-cutting endeavours that bear similarities to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency [...]
City watchdog takes on advice gap to unlock growth June 30, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a new form of financial help dubbed ‘targeted support’ in a bid to encourage greater consumer participation in financial markets and unlock more investment-led growth. The City regulator will target consumers with common financial characteristics, such as unsustainable pension drawdown, inadequate retirement savings and excess cash not being [...]
Cavendish chiefs: Markets need tax incentive to turn heads June 27, 2025 The bosses of investment bank Cavendish have joined calls to use more attractive tax policy to boost market listings, amid a waning backdrop for the London Stock Exchange. The London-listed company swung back into profit on Wednesday, but did so battling against woeful mergers and acquisition volumes. Takings from M&A slumped 55 per cent on [...]
Cavendish shakes off M&A woes to swing to profit June 26, 2025 Cavendish swung back into profit in the latest financial year despite a sharp drop in revenue in its mergers and acquisitions division. The London-listed investment bank turned a slim £700m in pre-tax profit for the year ending March 31 but this marked a hefty shift from the £4.3m loss in 2024. The firm said its [...]
Cavendish shares eye year high after rejecting deals unit takeover June 24, 2025 Shares in investment bank Cavendish spiked on Tuesday as the firm confirmed it had rejected takeover interest in its deals unit after facing private equity-backed interest. Cavendish had been approached regarding a deal that would break up the London-listed investment bank by Smith and Williamson (S&W). The value of the offer remains unclear, Sky News [...]
Peel Hunt: Bonuses scrapped for third year running June 18, 2025 Peel Hunt has scrapped bonuses for its top executives for a third year running as losses at the investment bank continued. Chief executive Steven Fine took home a pay packet of £465,000 for the year to 31 March, 2025, while chief financial and operating officer Sunil Dhall received £316,000, according to its latest annual report. [...]
Barclays calls in McKinsey to find savings in investment arm June 17, 2025 Barclays has tapped global consultancy giant McKinsey in a bid to identify cost-saving areas across its investment banking arm. The FTSE 100 bank is looking to simplify its investment bank, with consultants examining the front office, finance, risk and technology divisions. The consultants will be looking at duplication of work and whether tasks can be [...]
Peel Hunt: UK stock market held back by ‘lack of self esteem’ June 16, 2025 The boss of City broker Peel Hunt has said London markets are being held back by a “domestic lack of self esteem”. Steven Fine, Peel Hunt’s chief executive, told City AM the UK believes it is in “a lot worse shape than the rest of the world does,” which has led to a cheapening of [...]
Peel Hunt: City broker makes a loss amid economic headwinds June 16, 2025 Investment bank Peel Hunt faced the pinch of economic and market struggles in its latest financial year as cost-cutting measures took a chunk out of the firm’s bottom line. The City broker made a loss before tax of £3.5m, which the firm said was due to restructuring costs. But the company recorded a profit of [...]
HSBC cuts more investment bank roles in latest European retreat May 27, 2025 HSBC has reportedly given more than two dozen analysts in its investment banking division the chop as the bank’s boss presses on with his sweeping overhaul. The firm’s cuts primarily focused on Europe, where the lender has continuously signalled a winding down of operations. The banking juggernaut slashed ten per cent of its work force [...]