By: Chris Dorrell

Chris Dorrell is a freelance journalist and City AM contributor. He was previously City AM's banking and then economics reporter. When Chris is not breaking news, he can often be found playing with his band Totally Amorphous.

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Pacwest explores potential sale as US banking turmoil looks set to roll on

May 4, 2023

After its share price tanked 50 per cent yesterday, Pacwest confirmed late last night that it was exploring "all options to maximise shareholder value" following reports that it was looking at a potential sale.
Virgin Money shares slide as profit falls by a quarter on higher provisions for bad loans

May 4, 2023

Virgin Money’s pretax profit slipped by a quarter in the six months to March as the bank set aside more funds to cope with expected impairment losses. Richard Branson’s challenger bank recorded £144m in provisions for bad loans compared to just £21m in the same period last year. Its shares were trading over five per cent [...]
Ex-Barclays boss: New tech and social media have power to ‘turbocharge’ bank runs

May 4, 2023

New technologies and social media have the power to “turbocharge” bank runs, former Barclays boss Antony Jenkins has said, commenting on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Speaking to City A.M., Jenkins said “technology is a wonderful thing” that has drastically improved the experience for financial services customers in many different ways. But while [...]
Calm for now: US regional banks make small gains ahead of Fed rate decision

May 3, 2023

Regional banks in the US notched small gains on Wednesday as the sector seemed to calm down following yesterday’s sell-off. Pacwest was trading 3.3 per cent higher while Western Alliance was up 2.1 per cent. The KBW Regional Bank index was up 1.2 per cent. Larger lenders were more mixed. JP Morgan was down 1.1 [...]
Metro Bank reports continued profitability as turnaround efforts slowly bear fruit

May 3, 2023

Metro Bank recorded its second consecutive quarter of profitability as the bank’s turnaround plans continue to bear fruit. Although it did not provide details, Metro Bank confirmed in a trading update today it was profitable on a statutory basis in the first quarter of this year. This comes after the bank reported profitability in the [...]
Lloyds profits swell by nearly 50 per cent as bank boosted by interest rate rises but guidance remains unchanged

May 3, 2023

Lloyds first quarter profits rose 46 per cent as the bank became the latest UK lender to see its bottom line boosted by a hike in interest rates. The lender’s pre-tax profits came in at £2.3bn compared to £1.5bn the same quarter last year. Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group said: “The group [...]
London listings: Watchdog proposes doing away with ‘standard’ and ‘premium’ segments

May 2, 2023

The UK’s financial watchdog announced proposals to streamline listing rules in the UK as it seeks to make the UK market a more attractive destination for firms to list. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) acknowledged that the UK’s listing regime was seen by some as too complicated and has proposed merging the ‘standard’ and ‘premium’ [...]
US regional banks face big sell-off despite First Republic rescue deal

May 2, 2023

Regional banks across the US were under pressure today as investors became increasingly nervous about the state of the banking sector despite JP Morgan’s acquisition of First Republic Bank. The KBW regional bank index, which includes a range of regional lenders, shed 6.6 per cent. Pacwest Bancorp shares were down nearly 30 per cent, while [...]
Tide turns against Ping An as HSBC’s pay outs convince investors, analysts, and boost the share price

May 2, 2023

The tide seemed to turn against Ping An today as HSBC recorded bumper profits and a major shareholder rejected the Chinese insurer’s spin-off campaign.
Morgan Stanley to cut another 3,000 jobs as banking layoffs continue

May 2, 2023

Morgan Stanley is reportedly set to cut thousands of jobs before the midway point of the year, as the largest round of banking layoffs since the financial crisis looks set to continue. The bank is looking to lay off 3,000 staff, Bloomberg reported, representing about five per cent of the bank’s staff. They are expected [...]

Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney resigns over Mandelson appointment

The real Guinness Six Nations showdown is happening in the pub

How South Wales became one of the UK’s most exciting food destinations

By: Chris Dorrell

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