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 [...]
Close Brothers shares sink as infamous short-seller warns of motor finance ‘wipeout’ March 16, 2026 Shares in Close Brothers plummeted on Monday after a group notorious for short-selling warned the bank had “systematically misrepresented” its exposure to the motor finance scandal. The FTSE 250 bank nosedived as much as 12 per cent during afternoon trading after Viceroy Research, a group famed for its exposés of Wirecard and Home Reit, warned [...]
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. [...]
Lord Roborough refused to stay at Odey Asset Management over ‘lack of trust’ March 13, 2026 Lord Roborough, a former partner at Odey Asset Management (OAM), has rejected claims made by Crispin Odey that the City watchdog directly pressured the firm’s executives to find against him. In a legal battle against the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), disgraced financier Odey claims the OAM executive committee was subject to “undue pressure from the FCA” [...]
European fintechs ride the Trump train to Wall Street March 11, 2026 The new set of aspiring American dreamers are landing on the shores of the Atlantic. But these digital-first visionaries printed in venture capital green aren’t looking for a white picket fence. Instead, their sights are locked on a federal banking charter. Last week Europe’s most valuable fintech company Revolut became the latest in a boat-load [...]
Revolut makes second bid for US banking permit March 5, 2026 Revolut has made its second play for a US banking licence to crack the North American market as efforts for a UK permit continue to drag on. The London-born fintech juggernaut said on Thursday it had filed for a US bank charter as it named its new boss for the North America region. Nik Storonsky, [...]
Wood Group hit with £13m fine as engineering titan set to exit City March 4, 2026 Scottish engineering titan John Wood Group has been slapped with a hefty fine after it produced inaccurate information in its financial results. The London-listed firm will cough up £13m following an investigation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) concluding its “accounting judgements were inappropriately influenced by its desire to maintain previously stated financial results”. The [...]
City watchdog plots streamlined motor finance scheme after backlash March 4, 2026 The UK’s financial watchdog is looking to “streamline” its long-anticipated motor finance compensation scheme following widespread backlash across the industry. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) provided a fresh update to markets on Wednesday, stating it was considering over 1,000 responses to its proposals for the industry-wide redress scheme. It added “if” it was to proceed [...]
Meet Reeves’ outsider tasked with steering the City to growth March 3, 2026 The City has rolled out the red carpet for the banking watchdog’s new chief after Katharine Braddick, a seasoned veteran of the financial trenches, was named on Friday as the successor to Sam Woods. For a cool £314,000 a year, she’s set to take on the brief of steering the UK’s banking sector. Chancellor Rachel [...]