How Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC fired up the FTSE 100 in 2025 December 9, 2025 If 2025 was supposed to be the year of the AI bubble, nobody told Britain’s banking giants. Amidst the noise of the US tech boom, the UK’s FTSE 100 banking heavyweights, Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays, and HSBC, have staged a formidable, if understated, rally. Lloyds delivered an astonishing 75.8 per cent gain, while Barclays surged 65 [...]
A complete guide to ISAs December 9, 2025 For UK investors, few acronyms carry as much weight as “ISA.” The Individual Savings Account remains the bedrock of personal financial planning in Britain, a tax-efficient sanctuary for your wealth amid ever-increasing taxes. As we move into the new tax year, the importance of maximising this allowance has never been greater. According to the IFS, [...]
Active, passive, or robot? Choosing your ISA management style December 9, 2025 Deciding to open a Stocks and Shares ISA is only the first step. The more critical decision—and the one that will determine your fees, stress levels, and potential returns—is how that money is managed. There are several distinct management styles, ranging from AI-driven algorithms to traditional human expertise. Understanding the difference between robo, self-managed, discretionary, [...]
Planning your personal finances in 2026 and beyond December 9, 2025 Partner content, in association with JP Morgan Personal Investing. By Claire Exley, head of financial advice and guidance at J.P. Morgan Personal Investing In the run-up, the 2025 Budget was probably one of the most talked about in recent years. The telltale sign is when friends who don’t usually show much interest are suddenly asking [...]
Visa shifts European HQ to Canary Wharf December 5, 2025 Payments juggernaut Visa is set to switch its European headquarters to Canary Wharf – hot on the heels of banking behemoth JP Morgan. The move from its current spot in Paddington comes amid a major resurgence in the London financial hub after a number of big firms snapped up offices in the district. Visa will [...]
Banks keep up their end of Rachel Reeves’ tax bargain November 27, 2025 The banking industry has given Rachel Reeves some much-needed ammunition as she attempts to defend her tax-heavy Autumn Budget. After being spared from a highly-anticipated cash grab, a fleet of banks announced a fresh pump of capital in the UK economy. Britain’s largest retail bank Lloyds Banking Group unveiled £35bn of new finance for 2026 [...]
JP Morgan makes £10bn UK bet as banks dodge tax raid November 27, 2025 JP Morgan is set to double down on the UK with plans to build its largest European presence through a new tower in Canary Wharf. The US banking juggernaut said it intends to build a new 3m square feet tower in London, which will inject as much as £10bn over the next six years into [...]
Don’t penalise banks amid private credit jitters, Lloyds boss urges November 5, 2025 The chef executive of Lloyds Banking Group has weighed in on the bubbling tension in the private credit market with a stark warning. In a session with the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee, Charlie Nunn said the UK needed to be “very careful not to make banks accountable for the risks of the [...]
War of words heats up as private credit bosses round on banks October 29, 2025 The war of words between banks and private credit ratcheted up on Wednesday, after a trio of bosses from private lenders rounded on claims their industry played a pivotal role in a string of recent debt-related collapses, branding it “misinformation”. During a fiery evidence session in the House of Lords, executives from alternative investment giants [...]
JP Morgan set to loosen crypto rules allowing Bitcoin as collateral October 24, 2025 JP Morgan is set to shake up its crypto rules with plans to allow institutional clients to use Bitcoin and Ether holdings as lending collateral. The new scheme will work with a third party to safeguard the crypto assets and follows the banking giant’s delving deeper into the world of digital assets. The US lender [...]