Banks brace for potential tax raid if Starmer is ousted April 25, 2026 Banks in the UK are bracing for potential tax raises, as expectations that Keir Starmer could soon be replaced by a more leftwing Labour politician continue to grow. The banking sector narrowly evaded a tax increase in last year’s Autumn Budget after chancellor Rachel Reeves sought reassurance that they would boost lending in the UK [...]
Motor finance trade body gears up for legal challenge to £9bn redress April 24, 2026 The motor finance industry’s trade body is mulling lodging a legal battle against the UK financial watchdog‘s £9bn redress scheme. The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), which counts Santander and the financial arms of BMW and Volkswagen among its members, is reported to be leaning towards challenging the City regulator’s scheme. Members of the body [...]
Motor finance and wealth progress in spotlight for Lloyds earnings April 24, 2026 Investors will be looking for old wounds to be heal and crucial updates on expansion progress when Lloyds Banking Group gives its first-quarter update next week. The FTSE 100 banking titan – which is frequently cited as the UK’s most-traded stock – will give markets an insight into how it started the new year on [...]
Motor finance: City watchdog faces legal battle over £9bn scheme April 22, 2026 The City watchdog is set to face a legal challenge to its motor finance redress scheme after being accused of leaving motorists “out of pocket”. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed its highly-anticipated £9.1bn scheme at the end of March, which cut the headline bill for lenders from £11bn. But Consumer Voice – a group [...]
Rachel Reeves to meet Lloyds and Natwest chiefs over Iran war April 20, 2026 Rachel Reeves has called in the bosses of Britain’s top banks for a summit this week to discuss the economic impact of the war in Iran. The Chancellor has invited executives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest, Santander UK as well as the UK’s biggest building society Nationwide for a meeting this Wednesday. The meeting – as [...]
Barclays most ‘hurt’ bank to UK economy downgrades April 16, 2026 Barclays has been branded the bank most set to be “hurt” by the downgrades slapped on the UK economy following the turmoil caused by the war in the Middle East. The bank’s macroeconomic forecasts hold the most optimistic assumptions when compared to its FTSE 100 peers. This leaves the lender with a less of a [...]
Wall Street banks’ $40bn haul overshadowed by economic threats April 15, 2026 Wall Street’s top banks are toasting a record revenue haul this week, but industry chiefs also struck a note of caution after bumper profits were driven by market volatility. JP Morgan led the pack with a net income of $16.5bn in the first-quarter of the year, up 13 per cent from the same period in [...]
Why Nationwide’s £7m boss was worth splashing the cash for April 15, 2026 Nationwide splashed the cash on it’s top boss, Debbie Crosbie, in this week’s column Samuel Norman asks if they got their monies worth. Nationwide has been proclaimed Britain’s best bank. The UK’s largest building society – which is, in fact, not a bank due its status as a mutual – has been handed the crown [...]
Wall Street bankers’ bonuses leapfrog City in ‘less impressive’ year April 14, 2026 Wall Street bankers have leapfrogged ahead of the City as the industry’s swelling bonus pot proved “far less impressive” than prior expectations. In the US, the average bonus scored was $154,344 (£114,00) in 2025, marking a 5.85 per cent uplift from the year prior. This also topped the industry average growth of 4.4 per cent. [...]
UK’s best bank revealed – and it’s not a bank April 9, 2026 The UK banking sector’s top bank has been crowned – and (spoiler) it’s not a bank. A new report from Forbes and market research firm Statista analysed the global banking system for the world’s top names in the sector. Over 54,000 people were surveyed across 34 countries in 17 different languages between October and November [...]