Close Brothers slapped with a downgrade after rocky third-quarter May 26, 2025 Close Brothers was handed a downgrade by Peel Hunt analysts on Friday after its third-quarter update did little to calm investor nerves. The bank said fees and expenses were still at an “elevated level” in the recent quarter as net expenses jumped to £13.9m. This was up from £11.6m in the same period last year. [...]
Motor finance: Is Close Brothers heading for a car crash? May 22, 2025 Costs are mounting, loan books are shrinking, an existential motor finance ruling looms – is Close Brothers heading for disaster? It’s been a bruising 12 months for the lender, with its stock down over 25 per cent. Recent rallies have helped it claw back gains of over 65 per cent in the last six months [...]
Lloyds Bank boss: No evidence of harm in motor finance scandal May 20, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive faced a grilling from the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday over the lender’s historical exposure to the motor finance market. Charlie Nunn, the bank’s boss, said there was “no evidence of harm” from the firm’s operations in the car financing market. The scandal in the sector headed to the Supreme [...]
English Cricket bans transgender women from women’s game May 2, 2025 Transgender women will no longer be able to play in women’s and girls’ cricket matches, the sport’s governing body the ECB has announced. It comes after a recent Supreme Court ruling said only those whose biological sex is female can be called female. “Our regulations for recreational cricket have always aimed at ensuring that cricket [...]
Businesses are bracing for trans policy rewrites April 30, 2025 Campaigners and watchdogs say the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on trans inclusion in the Equality Act brought clarity. But for bosses, the topic is likely to become even more of a minefield, says Ali Lyon. Ever since her appointment as chair of the UK’s human rights watchdog in 2020, Baroness Falkner has been convinced that [...]
Former UBS multi-millionaire banker divorce goes to top UK court April 30, 2025 High-profile divorce battle of the former UBS banker and his wife heads to the highest court in the UK
The UK government hid behind the Supreme Court over the gender question April 24, 2025 The debate over defining a woman results in a lot of anger. As a political issue, why does it feel like the Supreme Court was used as a scapegoat?
Santander to spin off motor finance division from UK business April 22, 2025 Santander is poised to spin off its litigation-hit motor finance division as part of a major overhaul of its UK operations. The Spanish lender has sought permission from regulators to separate its car loan business, which is facing a near-£300m payout as part of the ongoing motor finance scandal, from the rest of its British [...]
Ford on the hook for £61m in motor finance scandal April 22, 2025 Ford has set aside as much as £61m as it becomes the latest company to be stung by the motor finance scandal. The American car manufacturer’s subsidiary FCE Bank made the provision for its British motor finance division in its latest accounts. The Essex-based FCE Bank said the provision reflected “estimated economic outflow” should a [...]
Thousands march in protest at Supreme Court ruling on definition of a woman April 19, 2025 Thousands of trans rights protesters have marched through central London days after a Supreme Court ruled on the definition of a woman. Supporters, trade unions and community organisations came together for what was billed as an “emergency demonstration” which started in Parliament Square before heading towards St James’s Park. Activists demanded “trans liberation” and “trans [...]