House prices fall for first time in three years as borrowing costs weigh on buyers Property House prices fell in the year to August in the first annual decrease in nearly three years, as high borrowing costs cause prospective buyers to “sit tight”. The average UK house price edged down 0.2 per last month to £298,468, according to Lloyd’s house price index. This marks a 0.4 per cent year-on-year fall, the [...]
Treasury sought to cap motor finance payouts, court filings claim Banking The government sought to cap payouts in the motor finance scandal at a level lenders could absorb and the City regulator acted “unlawfully” in failing to protect consumers, new court filings seen by City AM allege. Both the Treasury and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are facing fresh scrutiny over the motor finance redress scheme as [...]
Lloyds Bank and Halifax users unable to use app in latest outage Banking Lloyds Banking Group has been hit with another app outage that has left thousands of customers unable to use services. The financial giant – which has Lloyds, Halifax and Scottish Widows under its umbrella – said it was “working to get things back to normal as quickly as we can” as users took to social [...]
Lloyds and Natwest flaunt social credentials as fears grow of Burnham tax grab August 26, 2026 Lloyds and Natwest are flaunting their community credentials and pledging a raft of new social investment initiatives as fears grow that Prime Minister Andy Burnham will launch a punishing tax raid on the sector with the government’s first Budget. The two lenders are among a group of top UK banks looking to prove they can [...]
London pensions firm eyes more deals after HSBC and Lloyds takeovers August 25, 2026 Pension consolidator Chesnara has said it is eyeing more deals after it swung back into profit following its takeover of HSBC Life UK. The London-listed firm recorded a £61m pre-tax profit in the first half of 2026, bouncing back from a £5m loss in the same period last year. Revenue soared to £255.9m, up from [...]
Big bank bosses on alert as tax noise gets louder under Burnham August 5, 2026 Banks have delivered booming profits for the first half of the year. In this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at how the calls for a tax rise on the sector will get louder under the new Prime Minister. “The saxophones are getting louder” is the internet’s new saying to depict growing anxiety. If you [...]
HSBC kicks off $1bn share buyback after profit smashes forecast August 4, 2026 HSBC has resumed its share buyback programme after profit soared past expectations in the second quarter of 2026. The FTSE 100 bank – whose market cap of £274bn makes it the London Stock Exchange’s most valuable company – posted $10.1bn (£7.5bn) in pre-tax profit for the last three months, surging past an internal forecast of [...]
‘It’s going to impact work’: Lloyds to cut £2bn in costs with AI July 30, 2026 The boss of Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to wield the axe on its cost base as the bank doubles down on AI ambitions. Charlie Nunn, the chief executive of the financial services giant, said AI is “going to impact work” and “require us to reskill people and hire new people” as he revealed a [...]
Lloyds beats profit target as bank sets sights on more cost-cutting July 30, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group beat its profit forecast for the first half of the year as the bank’s top boss laid out plans to make further cost savings in the years ahead. The FTSE 100 lender – which owns the Bank of Scotland and Halifax – recorded a £4.3bn pre-tax profit in the first half of [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 hits new high after interest rates held July 30, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England has held interest rates at 3.75 per cent in a 6-3 split. The City had pencilled in a hawkish hold from the Monetary Policy Committee after inflationary pressures were renewed on the latest round of strikes in the Middle East. Megan Greene, Catherine Mann and [...]