Reeves seeks to spark retail investor revolution July 15, 2025 High street banks Barclays and Lloyds will lead an advertising campaign to encourage more Brits into retail investing as part of a wider effort to get savers to boost the UK economy. In rallying calls to financial services, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled a campaign to encourage savers to invest in stocks and bonds, drawing [...]
Which UK banks are next in line for a takeover? July 11, 2025 As the next wave of banking consolidation kicks off, specialist lenders are in the fray to be swallowed up. The industry has seen a flood of mergers and acquisitions in recent years, of which the latest was a landmark tie-up between Santander and TSB Bank. Santander snapped up 12-year old British high street lender TSB [...]
Bailey: Don’t force pension funds into UK assets July 9, 2025 Andrew Bailey has warned the government against forcing pension funds to invest in UK assets, saying that while reform to the sector was essential, he would prefer to see it done in a “natural” way. Treasury ministers have refused to rule out taking measures to make British pension funds allocate a certain share of their [...]
Labour’s Mansion House will be lift-off or letdown for banks July 9, 2025 Britain’s banking sector will be keeping a close eye on Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech on July 15 in which the Chancellor will lay out Labour’s roadmap for financial services. Banks are set to take centre stage in the Treasury’s Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy as Reeves looks to harness the sector to power [...]
Rachel Reeves urged to rip up ring-fencing in banking growth push July 7, 2025 Rachel Reeves is facing renewed pressure to scrap the ring-fencing regime imposed on British banking giants in a bid to bolster the sector’s international competitiveness and bolster economic growth. The Chancellor has been lobbied by top banking chiefs to ditch the “redundant” 15-year-old legislation, which requires major banks to separate their retail banking operations from [...]
Exclusive: Lloyds and Barclays bleed millions in complaint fees July 7, 2025 Lloyds and Barclays were among top UK banking giants paying millions to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in administrative fees in the last year. The banking industry’s ‘Big Six’ – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Natwest, Santander and Nationwide – paid the FOS a combined £38.8m in admin fees for the year ending March 31. [...]
Scottish Widows owner: Pension funds deal risks making UK like China July 7, 2025 Labour’s flagship deal with pension funds risks making the UK economy more like China, the boss of Lloyds Banking Group has warned after its subsidiary Scottish Widows chose not to sign up to the agreement. Chancellor Rachel Reeves won the support of 17 pension funds which agreed to invest at least five per cent of [...]
Why did Santander buy TSB? July 3, 2025 Santander might have hoped its takeover of TSB would make waves across the banking industry, but analysts have dubbed it a more modest splash. The deal, which is set to be worth £2.9bn when closed in 2026, will add TSB’s five million customers, £34bn in mortgages and £35bn in deposits to Santander’s portfolio as well [...]
British banks shed workers at fastest pace since 2018 July 2, 2025 British bankers were on the chopping block in 2024 as UK lenders marked the steepest drop in headcount since 2018 amid an industry-wide digital push. Total employee numbers at British lenders slumped 5.25 per cent to 580,371, falling to the lowest number in a decade. Standard Chartered and HSBC made the biggest culls at 4.5 [...]
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 [...]