By: Samuel Norman

Senior City Reporter Samuel is a Senior City Reporter covering all the top financial institutions from retail banks to fintechs as well as stories on capital markets and economics. He has broken stories on some of the biggest names in the City and regularly writes in-depth analysis pieces on companies and industry trends. Samuel also leads on City AM's morning liveblog from 7am everyday. He writes a weekly column found in print and online on Wednesdays. He can be contacted at samuel.norman@cityam.com and posts on LinkedIn and X at x.com/samnormanwrites.

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Secure Trust Bank: Deposits hit record high as loan book swells

August 14, 2025

Specialist lender Secure Trust Bank posted a bumper first half of the year after customer deposits smashed a record high and lending balances swelled. The firm recorded a 8.2 per cent increase in deposits to £3.5bn whilst net landing balances grew 6.1 per cent to £3.8bn. This helped drive an over 30 per cent jump [...]
Aviva’s profit soars ahead of merger with Direct Line

August 14, 2025

Aviva posted a profit jump for the first half of the year after strong growth across its wealth and insurance divisions. The company’s operating profit climbed 22 per cent to just north of £1bn – topping the £875m netted in the first half of 2024. This comes after Aviva completed its £3.7bn takeover of rival [...]
City watchdog sacked 12 for misconduct amid crackdown on firms

August 13, 2025

The Financial Conduct Authority sacked 12 workers as a result of misconduct allegations, City AM can reveal. Official figures show nearly 40 members of staff were formally disciplined by the City watchdog between 2022 and 2024 due to misconduct. A dozen of these were dismissed from their post with 10 handed a “final written warning”. [...]
Zilch hikes provisions amid ‘record year’ for customer growth

August 13, 2025

UK fintech Zilch raised its provisions for losses in the last year as demand for buy now, pay later services ballooned. The London-headquartered firm raised provisions for credit losses – funds set aside to cover estimated losses from failed repayments – to £27.4m – a 116 per cent jump from £12.7m the year prior. Credit [...]
Shoe Zone shares booted as Labour’s budget tax raid weighs

August 13, 2025

Footwear retailer Shoe Zone has slashed its profit target in half for the full-year citing an overhang from Rachel Reeves’ 2024 Autumn Budget. The London-listed firm said in a trading update on Wednesday it expects pre-tax profit for the financial year ending September 2025 to be around £2.5m. This marks a stark drop from previous [...]
Balfour Beatty receives profit boost from government contracts

August 13, 2025

Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty recorded a jump in profit for the first half of the year after a bumper performance in its UK construction. The London-listed firm posted a £20m rise in pre-tax profit for the first six months of the year to £132m, up from £112m last year. It came as the business’ UK [...]
A Rachel Reeves and Andrew Bailey clash risks Britain’s stablecoin dream

August 13, 2025

A Rachel Reeves and Bank of England clash risks derailing Britain’s stablecoin dream as the country plays catchup in the over £200bn market. The Chancellor referenced plans to drive forward “developments in blockchain technology including… stablecoin” in her 2025 Mansion House speech. But Reeves faces an obstacle to push her plans in the form of [...]
Demand for City lawyers surges amid motor finance scandal

August 13, 2025

Lawyers are facing questions after the Supreme Court's motor finance ruling left the door open for consumer claims
Revolut leads $500m fintech push into Formula 1

August 12, 2025

Revolut, Airwallex and OKX are among global fintech giants turning to Formula 1 in a major advertising push. Fintech firms piled over $500m (£370m) into F1 sponsorship deals for the 2025 season in a bid to ramp up their promotions. It comes as the average value of an F1 sponsorship deal climbed to over $6m [...]
S&U shares jump as bank predicts profit ‘resurgence’

August 12, 2025

Shares in specialist lender S&U rallied as markets opened on Tuesday after the bank said its “resurgence in profitability” had begun to materialise. The London-listed firm’s stock was up over three per cent in early trading to 1,940. The jump came after the lender provided an upbeat trading update, anticipating building momentum for the second [...]

Sir James Dyson calls for more ‘technical universities’ to help Neets

Landmark Royal Antwerp case is another test of EU’s appetite to help football consumers

Does the Range Rover Sport Electric have the harder job?

By: Samuel Norman

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