By: Samuel Norman

Senior City Reporter Samuel is a Senior City Reporter covering banking and fintech as well as stories on capital markets and economics. He also leads on City AM's morning liveblog from 7am everyday. He has previously written for the Daily Mail and The i Paper and worked for Sky News as an election stringer. He enjoys writing in-depth analysis of major blue-chip firms and start-ups and also industry trends. He can be contacted at samuel.norman@cityam.com and posts on LinkedIn and X at x.com/samnormanwrites.

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As it happened: Stocks fall as US and Iran clash over Strait of Hormuz; Fed chair says inflation risk is easing

July 1, 2026

Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices are holding steady above $73 per barrel after days of heightened tensions between the US and Iran ahead of peace talks in Qatar. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – posted its biggest quarterly decline since 2020 for the second quarter of the [...]
UK banks’ digital ID bid is a game of optics – and the odds are not in their favour

July 1, 2026

A digital ID row has dominated headlines in the last year, and banks are set to join the row. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at what they might be in for. Britain’s banks have voluntarily thrown themselves into one of the most toxic culture wars of the decade. Few subjects evoke [...]
Lloyds accused of debanking left-wing media outlet The Canary

June 30, 2026

Lloyds Banking Group has been accused of debanking the left-wing news website The Canary in a move that has left the media outlet with “barely any funds”. The bank was slammed by the media firm on Tuesday for allegedly “withholding a substantial amount of our money” and debanking them after nearly a decade of use. [...]
UK fintech Monovate posts £8.3m loss as Visa and Mastercard partner dumps European arm

June 30, 2026

A key fintech partner of Mastercard and Visa suffered a hit to its bottom line as the business restructured its European operations and counted the costs of a major accounting error. Monovate – which acts as a licensed middle man bridging businesses and payment giants – made a loss of £8.3m in 2025, which was [...]
Barclays splashes £750m on Canary Wharf base in ‘strong endorsement’ of London

June 30, 2026

Barclays has taken control of its global headquarters based out of Canary Wharf in a £750m deal hailed as a “strong endorsement” of the financial district and the capital itself. The blue-chip lender has entered a long-term leasehold interest agreement with Canary Wharf Group that grants the bank to use the property – based at [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump on defence and metals boost; Oil on track to shed a fifth on US-Iran peace hopes

June 30, 2026

Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil’s speed of decline has taken a hit this week as investors were forced to pause at the renewal of strike action between the US and Iran. Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was steadying above $73 per barrel, holding onto some of the [...]
‘Sh*tloads to come’: London takeover spree set to accelerate

June 29, 2026

At a gathering of some of London’s top bankers in the City of London last week, the mood was one of uncertainty. On the one hand, London’s dealmakers are not in want of work. In the past two weeks alone Easyjet has opened the door to an approach from American private equity firm Castlelake, Ramsdens [...]
Mercedes-Benz slammed for swerving payout for car with ‘serious safety risk’

June 29, 2026

Mercedes-Benz’s finance arm has been slammed by the UK’s banks ombudsman for “very poor” handling of a motor finance dispute where a consumer’s car showed “serious” electrical faults. The financial services arm of the German carmaker has been ordered to refund with interest 50 per cent of all monthly payments made by a customer after [...]
Wise profit slides as costs racks up from US listing

June 26, 2026

Money transfer firm Wise saw its profit fall in its latest financial year as costs related to its new primary listing on Wall Street helped take a chunk out of the company’s bottom line. The UK fintech’s profit before tax slid eight per cent to $660m (£500m) – down from $717.5m – in its first [...]
As it happened: Stocks tumble after Apple rattles global markets; UK food exports hit by US tariffs

June 26, 2026

Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets are digesting fresh inflationary fears driven by Apple’s price hike as well as renewed threats over the safety of the Strait of Hormuz this morning after a projectile struck a vessel off the coast of Oman. Asian equity markets took a tumble overnight as price increases announced [...]

Iranian hackers behind UK energy plant attack

Why Liverpool deal proves demand for Premier League stakes is soaring

Meet the Destrier, Bugatti’s most extreme one-off yet

By: Samuel Norman

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