Motor finance backlash mounts with calls to pull £4bn from lenders November 3, 2025 The financial watchdog is back in the hot seat as criticism of its controversial motor finance redress scheme continues to mount. A fresh report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fair Banking has blasted the City watchdog for a “£4.4bn billion gap” in the proposed scheme. The group accused the regulator of being “influenced [...]
Top court sides with HMRC as NHS hospitals liable for VAT on parking fees October 29, 2025 HMRC brought a case against a branch of NHS hospitals to the Supreme Court over whether VAT should have been charged on hospital car parking fees, and they’ve succeeded. Today marks the end of a five-year legal battle through each court stage over VAT on parking tickets used by patients, visitors, and hospital staff at [...]
Tom Hayes sues UBS over Libor scandal October 28, 2025 Tom Hayes is suing his former employer UBS, alleging it handed him on a “silver platter” to white-collar crime prosecutors to safeguard the interests of the Swiss lender and its leadership. The former trader, who became the face of the Libor rate-rigging scandal when he was sentenced to nine years in a UK prison in [...]
City watchdog accused of ‘massive overreach’ in motor finance clampdown October 28, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been accused of a “massive overreach” following letters sent to law firms and claims management companies (CMCs) requesting batches of information under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers law. The FCA sent letters in August, seen by City AM, requesting information on the law firms’ motor finance services, [...]
Secure Trust Bank, Bank of Ireland up motor finance provisions October 20, 2025 Secure Trust Bank and the Bank of Ireland have added themselves to a growing list of businesses upping their provisions ahead of a flurry of claims expected in connection with the motor finance scandal. Following the publication of the UK finance watchdog’s review into the saga, Secure Trust Bank said it had more than tripled [...]
Trump may face tariff refund ‘nightmare’ September 4, 2025 Donald Trump could face the “nightmare scenario” of being forced to refund the money collected by his tariffs, a leading City advisory firm has told City AM, after a federal court deemed most of them illegal. The court found last Friday that the US President overstepped his office’s powers when he unilaterally announced April’s so-called [...]
Ex-wife of sanctioned former Russian PM wins divorce appeal September 4, 2025 The former Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Potanin, is set to face a multi-billion-pound divorce case in England after his ex-wife won her case at the Court of Appeal today. Natalia Nikolaevna Potanina was married to Potanin for around thirty years before divorcing in Russia in 2014. However, she had argued that the Russian court’s [...]
Close Brothers shares downgraded despite motor finance win August 18, 2025 Analysts have slapped a downgrade on Close Brothers stock despite the bank’s motor finance win last month at the Supreme Court. The FTSE 250-listed bank’s stock rating was lowered to ‘Sector Perform’, down from previous ‘Outperform’ expectations. Close Brothers shares were down over four per cent in early trading to 494.80. It comes after the [...]
Secure Trust Bank: Deposits hit record high as loan book swells August 14, 2025 Specialist lender Secure Trust Bank posted a bumper first half of the year after customer deposits smashed a record high and lending balances swelled. The firm recorded a 8.2 per cent increase in deposits to £3.5bn whilst net landing balances grew 6.1 per cent to £3.8bn. This helped drive an over 30 per cent jump [...]
Demand for City lawyers surges amid motor finance scandal August 13, 2025 Lawyers are facing questions after the Supreme Court's motor finance ruling left the door open for consumer claims