FTSE 100 banks outperform but face tougher waters ahead August 4, 2025 The FTSE 100’s banking constituents breezed through the second quarter results season as interest income remained stable and trading income soared on the back of market volatility. The ‘Big Five’ banks of London’s flagship stock index – Barclays, HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds and Standard Chartered – pocketed a combined £12.8bn in the three months to June [...]
Barclays follows HSBC in ditching net zero banks club August 1, 2025 Barclays has become the second London-based bank to exit the net zero banks club as the financial services industry continues to row back on climate policies. The FTSE 100 giant – which recorded a £1bn profit jump for the second quarter – said on Friday the UN-convened Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) “no longer has [...]
Rachel Reeves could use bank windfall tax to plug Labour’s U-turns July 31, 2025 Rachel Reeves could launch a fresh tax grab on banks to plug the spending holes left by Labour’s recent U-turns, new analysis has found. The Chancellor is poised to hike taxes in the Autumn Budget after a series of government policy switches eroded her already wafer-thin fiscal headroom of £9.9bn. This comes as fresh research [...]
Banks back in crosshairs as Labour eyes tax hikes July 31, 2025 George Osborne’s likely payday from the sale of Robey Warshaw to US giant Evercore won’t be the first time he’s extracted money from the banking sector. In his inaugural 2010 Budget he announced a UK bank levy of 0.05 per cent on certain bank liabilities. Conceived in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the [...]
Nationwide wins big in mass switch from FTSE 100 banks July 30, 2025 Nationwide has raided the customer base of Britain’s banking titans as current account switchers flocked away from legacy firms. The building society welcomed nearly 73,000 switchers in the first three months of the year, compared to 17,000 outflows, according to Pay.uk data. This comes after the mutual returned billions to customers in 2024, whilst the [...]
HSBC boss: Rachel Reeves hiking bank tax would dent growth July 30, 2025 The boss of FTSE 100 juggernaut HSBC has become the latest banking voice to warn Rachel Reeves against raising taxes on banks over fears it would harm economic growth. Georges Elhedery, HSBC’s chief executive, said on Wednesday any further financial pressures on lenders could spark trouble for the UK economy. “Additional taxation on banks runs [...]
Barclays joins FTSE 100 peers in warning against bank tax hike July 29, 2025 Barclays has become the latest banking giant to send a firm warning to Rachel Reeves to avoid bank tax hike as the Chancellor scrambles to maintain her wafer-thin fiscal headroom. The FTSE 100 giant’s boss CS Venkatakrishnan, known as Venkat, said the government’s mission for growth would not align with slapping a tax increase on [...]
NatWest boosts outlook and kicks off new share buyback July 25, 2025 NatWest has upgraded its full-year guidance with a 9.5p interim dividend and a £750m share buyback following "a strong H1 2025 performance".
Natwest boosts AI strategy with AWS and Accenture July 23, 2025 Natwest Group has announced a five-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and consultancy Accenture to accelerate its bank-wide data and AI transformation, ahead of its half-year earnings release scheduled for July 25. The agreement forms part of the group’s broader strategy to simplify its operations and offer a more personalised customer experience. By consolidating data currently housed [...]
Natwest and Lloyds: What to expect from FTSE 100 bank earnings next week July 21, 2025 The FTSE 100’s banking titans, Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC are gearing up for what promises to be an interesting half-year reporting season. Lloyds and Natwest will kick off earnings on July 24 and July 25 followed by peers Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered the following week. The first quarter was defined by President Donald Trump’s [...]