Metro Bank shares soar as lender’s turnaround gathers pace May 8, 2025 Metro Bank said there was a “significant increase” in quarter one profit against the second half of 2024 during a trading update on Thursday. Shares in the bank jumped nearly four per cent during early trading. The London-based firm said it was “confident” it would meet full-year targets after a “structurally higher” net interest margin, [...]
Ministers call in HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds bosses for small business lending talks May 6, 2025 Top bank bosses were summoned for talks with ministers on Tuesday after a government report revealed that small businesses were having difficulty securing loans. Senior executives from HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds will be in attendance for the meeting, which will be chaired by minister for small business Gareth Thomas. A report from the Department of [...]
Bank of England to hike FSCS protection from £85,000 to £110,000 March 31, 2025 UK depositors will receive greater protection from the Bank of England as the amount of money covered by a nationwide deposit guarantee scheme is set to rise to £110,000. The scheme provides financial protection to depositors in case banks, building societies, and credit unions become insolvent. It is funded by a levy paid by regulated [...]
Deutsche Bank bets £250m on UK fintech Abound March 27, 2025 Deutsche Bank announced on Thursday morning it had given a £250m backing to UK fintech Abound, boosting the firm’s lending capacity. The latest round of funding compounds existing support from Citi, Waterfall Asset Management and LuminArx – and takes the fintech’s total credit ceiling to £1.6bn. Abound said the additional capital would provide “firepower to [...]
Borrowing boom to boost banks February 17, 2025 Banks have been given a boost after new data predicted borrowing growth would rise throughout 2025. After the Bank of England slashed interest rates three times in the last six months, research from EY Item Club anticipates total UK bank lending will rise to 3.7 per cent this year, up from 2.3 per cent in [...]
Optimism among UK SMEs rises for third straight year September 23, 2024 Optimism among the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses has grown for a third consecutive year in a positive sign for the domestic economy, according to fresh data. Around seven in ten SMEs said they felt confident about the future of their company, rising from 67 per cent in 2023 and 65 per cent in 2022, [...]
Bad data holding back lending to UK’s small businesses, fintech chief warns September 6, 2024 High street banks are keen to lend more to small businesses but being held back by poor data sharing, the head of of a government-backed fintech hub has said, hailing the sector's potential to boost UK economic growth.
Is the high street party over for Metro Bank? August 4, 2024 The boss of Metro Bank has said it will begin to shift its focus away from the high street as the lender looks to ramp up its business banking efforts.
Allica Bank chief bets on rapid growth to force improvement in SME finance May 9, 2024 Allica only launched in 2020 but has already become a certified fintech darling. It was named by Deloitte as the UK’s fastest-growing fintech last year and in April posted its first annual profit of £16.1m.