FTSE 100 banks are facing £2.5bn of headwinds – HSBC and Barclays are in the firing line Banking The FTSE 100’s Big Five banks toasted a healthy profit stash in the first-quarter, but, says Samuel Norman, storm clouds are gathering on the horizon for the sector. The London market’s five biggest banks swallowed a bitter cocktail of economic risks in the first three months of the year leaving a bumper cash haul overshadowed [...]
Standard Chartered registers $190m charge on Iran war Banking Standard Chartered’s impairment charges jumped in the first quarter as the bank set aside a hefty sum to cover volatility in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 giant booked $296m in credit impairment charges, with $190m of this coming from “precautionary management overlays” related to the war in Iran. The Asian-focused bank’s activity in the [...]
Bank of England Live: Interest rates held as hawks warn of ‘highly uncertain’ energy prices Markets Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has today decided to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent in a hawkish display. In last month’s decision, the Bank held rates in a unanimous decision. Afterwards, short-term gilt yields, which reflect government borrowing costs, sharply rose as traders priced [...]
FTSE 100 banks £16bn payday to face economic reality check April 27, 2026 Provisions for sour loans threaten to take a bite out of profit growth as Barclays kicks off FTSE 100 banks earnings season next week whilst economic tensions loom over the wider financial industry. UK banks will give a snapshot of the gathering tensions in the economy next week as the nation’s top lenders update the [...]
City AM Awards 2026: Meet the Finalists March 18, 2026 And the nominees are…. Personality of the Year Greg Jackson CBE The entrepreneur and CEO of Octopus Energy has become one of the UK’s most prominent business leaders, known for his straight talking and punchy views across a range of topics including UK entrepreneurship, the business environment, capital markets and, of course, energy. In August [...]
Standard Chartered evacuates Dubai offices amid Iran war March 11, 2026 London-headquartered Standard Chartered has begun to evacuate staff from its offices in Dubai following the latest escalations in the war in the Middle East. The FTSE 100 giant boasts a large presence in the region as part of international expansion efforts across the United Arab Emirates but has now found itself caught in the growing [...]
How HSBC and Standard Chartered are riding high on Asia’s wealth February 26, 2026 London’s banking giants are circling the UK’s wealth management pie. But two other top lenders could be carving out a feast 6,000 miles away. HSBC and Standard Chartered posted hefty bumps to their wealth divisions, driven by a strategic focus on Asia and the Middle East. In financial results shared on Wednesday, HSBC revealed bank-wide [...]
‘Vulnerable’ Lloyds and Barclays shares dip as tariff turmoil hits FTSE 100 February 24, 2026 Lloyds and Barclays shares tumbled into the red this morning as “vulnerable” City banking stocks got caught in the FTSE 100’s tariff turmoil. The FTSE 350 bank index tumbled over one per cent at open to 8,184.62 as lenders were struck with volatility at the opening bell. Barclays led the slump at over two per [...]
Standard Chartered hikes investor returns despite profit miss February 24, 2026 Standard Chartered handed out bumper investor returns following its full-year results despite the London-listed bank missing its profit target pencilled in by analysts. The Asian-focused lender recorded a two per cent uptick in pre-tax profit to $814m, falling below analyst expectations of $1.1bn. The miss came as net interest income performed weaker-than-expected, slumping 12 per [...]
Natwest and Lloyds shares lead FTSE 100 rally after bruising week February 16, 2026 Natwest led a rally across Britain’s banking giants on Monday morning as lenders patched their wounds after a bruising week on the stock market. The bank topped the FTSE 100’s risers at the starting bell, gaining over four per cent in early trading to 603.60p. Barclays was shortly behind, advancing over 2.5 per cent to [...]