London and New York in tight race to be world’s top financial hub Regulation London and New York are locked in a tight-race in the fight to become the world’s most dominant financial hub. The latest Global Financial Centre’s Index from Z/Yen showed both cities retained their respective spots in new rankings, with each of their scores inching up by a singular point. New York topped the list at [...]
Bank of London hit with £2m fine for ‘misleading’ watchdog Fintech The Bank of London has been slapped with a hefty fine from the banking watchdog after “misleading” the regulator and “failing to act with integrity”. The embattled fintech and its parent company Oplyse Holdings are on the hook for £2m after the watchdog found it failed to be open regarding its capital position. It marks [...]
Federal Reserve orders Oaknorth to set up UK holding firm Regulation Digital bank Oaknorth has been ordered by the US financial watchdog to switch its domicile to the UK to get the green light on its takeover of a Michigan-based bank. The small business lender is exploring plans to establish a new UK holding company as a way to seal the deal on its acquisition of [...]
Treasury reforms to banks ombudsman threaten independence, MPs warn March 18, 2026 The Treasury’s reforms to the banks ombudsman threaten to upend the body’s independence, a group of influential MPs have warned. The government revealed its overhaul proposals for the financial ombudsman service (FOS) on Tuesday in a bid to curb concerns it had behaved as a “quasi-regulator”. But a fresh letter to City minister Lucy Rigby [...]
FCA tightens cyber reporting rules as UK firms face rising risk March 18, 2026 The City watchdog has moved to tighten cyber and operational resilience rules for financial firms, as attacks grow more frequent and increasingly spread through third-party providers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirmed new requirements to standardise how firms report incidents and manage third-party risks, in a bid to improve visibility over disruptions ranging from cyber [...]
Is the motor finance scandal making City banks trim the fat? March 18, 2026 In the fallout of the multi-billion pound motor finance scandal, bank bosses are getting their house in order. The landmark saga, which began with the UK’s financial watchdog’s review into the market over two years ago, centres around the use of ‘secret’ agreements between car dealers and lenders that left customers in the dark on [...]
Close Brothers to axe fifth of jobs after motor finance ‘wipeout’ warning March 17, 2026 Close Brothers has warned it will cull as much as a fifth of its headcount as the bank continued its aggressive cost-cutting strategy following mounting losses linked to the motor finance scandal. The FTSE 250 bank said it would axe a staggering 600 full-time roles by the end of the 2027 financial, which represents around [...]
Bank of England: We can’t eliminate bias in AI March 16, 2026 A top boss at the Bank of England has warned the use of artificial intelligence programs will never be bias-free and instead users must be aware of the risk. Jem Davis, chief compliance officer at the Bank of England, said: “My view is you’re probably not going to be able to eliminate bias completely, but [...]
UK banking sector faces ‘AI-washing’ legal warning March 16, 2026 The UK’s banking sector is facing a new wave of regulatory AI warnings as bullish lenders race to rapidly beef up their tech capacity. Rosehana Amin, cyber and litigation partner at Clyde & Co LLP, warned banks may face a significant legal liability over misleading markets over their use of AI. Speaking at the City [...]
What happens now after Lloyds Bank’s tech disaster? March 13, 2026 Customers at Lloyds Banking Group were sent into panic on Thursday morning after a number of users opened their mobile app to find rogue transactions that did not belong to them. Screenshots quickly flooded social media with many of the bank’s 28m customers describing their horror at seeing up thousands of pounds of bizarre payments. [...]