Revolut US licence win ‘strengthens pre-IPO story’ Fintech Revolut’s conditional approval for a US banking licence has been hailed as a “consequential” step in the fintech’s march towards a long-awaited public debut. The digital bank landed approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its American national bank charter last week, clearing a major hurdle to launch its operations [...]
Investors fret as UK fintech chief bows out Fintech Lisa Jacobs has overseen a tumultuous time at the helm of London-listed fintech Funding Circle. After she announced plans for her exit, Samuel Norman takes a look at Jacobs’ tenure in this week’s column. As she announced plans to bow out from fintech firm Funding Circle on Tuesday, Lisa Jacobs was desperate to play down [...]
Ladbrokes-owner and Aston Martin on chopping block in FTSE reshuffle Markets Ladbrokes-owner Entain and Aston Martin are among a handful of firms facing the chopping block in the looming quarterly reshuffle of the London market indices. Entain is slated to tumble out of the FTSE 100 after a bruising period, made worse by the increase of taxes on bookies. The betting business “has battled with high [...]
Plus500 splashes cash on investors after US expansion bears fruit August 10, 2026 Plus500 has kicked off another round of bumper returns to shareholders after delivering its highest customer income in five years following expansion into the US market. The FTSE 250 fintech recorded revenue of $462.9m for the first half of the year, up 12 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile customer income, which measures revenue generated directly from [...]
Oil price falls but Trump and Iran clash on negotiations claim August 3, 2026 The price of oil has drifted lower after Donald Trump called off strikes on Iran but progress towards a finalised peace deal continues to stall as the President clashes with Iran’s leadership. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tumbled over five per cent on Monday to below $83 per barrel as [...]
As it happened: Stocks reverse losses after Trump threatens harder strikes on Iran; Oil at four-week high July 15, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices have reached a four-week high after the Strait of Hormuz became too unsafe for ships travel through following the exchange of strikes between the US and Iran. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – tipped over the $87 per barrel mark on Tuesday [...]
A £3bn reckoning that will reshape buy now, pay later July 15, 2026 Buy now, pay later providers are cheering the arrival of new regulations.In this week’s column Samuel Norman considers how the industry could be reshaped. Five years ago, the government revealed plans to crack down on the buy now, pay later market after an industry review found financial risks posed by the ease with which consumers [...]
Barclays and Lloyds back calls to digitalise UK markets and unlock £33bn boost July 13, 2026 Top financial institutions have rallied behind a new report calling for the government to accelerate the digitalisation of UK markets to deliver a £33bn annaul boost to the economy. The paper, backed by a 54-strong taskforce that includes the likes of Barclays, JP Morgan and Lloyds Banking Group, says the tokenisation of markets could add [...]
Bank of England to relax capital rules despite warning of economic threats July 7, 2026 The Bank of England set out proposals to relax UK banks’ capital rules even as it sounded the alarm on the growing risk of multiple threats hitting the UK economy. In the latest meeting of the central bank’s Financial Policy Committee top officials said it would work with watchdogs on a package of “broad reforms” [...]
Tale of two cities: London leaps ahead in global finance but domestic growth stalls July 3, 2026 The City of London has cemented its dominance in international finance ten years on from the Brexit vote but faced sobering domestic growth that failed to match the momentum. The capital sees more international activity conducted than the next eight largest financial centres in Europe combined, according to a new report by New Financial. The [...]