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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Banks agree to protect freedom of expression after Farage furore

July 26, 2023

Bank bosses today agreed to protect freedom of expression after they were hauled in for talks with City minister Andrew Griffith following the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account. In a meeting today with bank bosses in the Treasury, representatives from Natwest, HSBC, Nationwide, Lloyds, Santander and Barclays committed to not ‘debank’ customers because of [...]
Nigel Farage calls for entire Natwest board to go after Rose resignation

July 26, 2023

Nigel Farage has called on the entire Natwest board to go after chief executive Dame Alison Rose resigned overnight after an extraordinary late-night board meeting – just hours after the bank’s chairman issued a statement offering her their full confidence. Rose outed herself as the source of a BBC story into the finances of Nigel [...]
Higher interest rates lift Santander UK profit to £1.2bn, warns mortgage market is cooling

July 26, 2023

Santander UK saw its profit rise significantly in the first half of the year, but the bank also noted that applications for mortgages had been hit by recent economic volatility. In the first half of the year pre-tax profit climbed 18 per cent to £1.2bn from £993m last year. This came thanks to a 10 [...]
Lloyds profit remains flat on last year despite boost from rising rates but guidance lifted for the year

July 26, 2023

Lloyds’ profit remained flat on last year despite the benefit of rising interest rates as the bank set aside more than anticipated to cope with bad loans. In the second quarter the high street bank recorded a pre-tax profit of £1.6bn, flat with last year but slightly lower than company compiled consensus. However, the profit [...]
Small business confidence slumps amid rising rates and stubborn inflation

July 26, 2023

Confidence among small businesses slumped in the second quarter as the impact of rising rates and a stalling economy hit SMEs. The Federation of Small Business’s (FSB) Small Business Index fell to minus 14.2 points in the second quarter, down 11.4 points in the first quarter of the year. The fall in confidence reflects the [...]
Three quarters of UK small businesses want to spread their deposits after SVB collapse, research shows

July 26, 2023

Three quarters of small businesses in the UK are considering spreading their deposits among a range of different banks following March’s banking crisis. According to new research from payments provider Neo, 75 per cent of UK SMEs are considering diversifying their bank pool while six per cent already have. Neo surveyed 100 CFOs and treasurers [...]
London court gives green light to £2.7bn foreign exchange claim against six major banks

July 25, 2023

The Court of Appeal ruled today that a £2.7bn class action claim relating to foreign exchange manipulation can proceed on an opt-out basis. The claim, brought by FX Claim UK, represents tens of thousands of participants in the foreign exchange market who suffered damages from the anticompetitive behaviour of six of the largest banks in [...]
HSBC set to reduce fixed-rate deals as hopes rise that mortgage rates will start to fall

July 25, 2023

HSBC became the first high street bank to announce they will be reducing rates on a swathe of their fixed-rate products, sparking hope that mortgage rates might begin to fall. Mortgage rates have spiralled in recent months as inflation has remained stubbornly above the Bank of England’s target. Traders are now betting that the Bank [...]
Paragon Bank attracts billions of pounds in new deposits as savers seek better rates

July 25, 2023

FTSE 250 challenger Paragon Bank has attracted billions in new deposits over the past year, as customers seek better rates on their savings. Paragon said its retail savings balance stood at over £12.3bn by the end of June, up 21.6 per cent on the same period last year. It noted these deposits were “predominantly fixed [...]
Italian banking giant Mediobanca backs London with £10.4m investment in startups

July 25, 2023

One of Italy’s largest investment banks Mediobanca has committed €12m (£10.4m) to a joint venture with early stage investor Founders Factory to help scale fintech startups. The joint venture will build and invest in 35 fintech businesses over the next five years. Mediobanca’s investment will help underpin a new fintech venture studio accelerator, enabling innovation [...]

Trump and Starmer in row over use of UK military bases

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Rolls-Royce celebrates 10 years of Black Badge cars

By: Chris Dorrell

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