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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Investec rakes in £1bn profit after lending and deposit boost

May 22, 2025

Investec’s profit soared to more than £1bn in its latest financial year after increased lending and deposits bolstered its revenue. The FTSE 250 bank recorded a 7.8 per cent annual jump in operating profit to just over £1bn for the year to 31 March, 2025. This beat the bank’s own upgraded forecast in March, where [...]
Impax’s takings slump after global retreat on sustainability

May 22, 2025

Impax Asset Management recorded a slump in revenue in the first half of the year as a global retreat on green policies turned clients away from its sustainability offering. The firm cited a “challenging first half of financial year” with assets under management falling to £25.3bn. This was down from £37.2bn at the end of [...]
Motor finance: Is Close Brothers heading for a car crash?

May 22, 2025

Costs are mounting, loan books are shrinking, an existential motor finance ruling looms – is Close Brothers heading for disaster? It’s been a bruising 12 months for the lender, with its stock down over 25 per cent. Recent rallies have helped it claw back gains of over 65 per cent in the last six months [...]
HSBC UK to slash bonuses for staff not turning up to office

May 21, 2025

HSBC has told its UK-based retail workers that failing to show up to the office could see their bonuses slashed. Europe’s biggest bank informed staff in the retail and domestic commercial arm that if they are not following the firm’s three-day minimum requirement to work in office they could be paid less as a result. [...]
Reeves warned against bank tax raid

May 21, 2025

Rachel Reeves has been warned of the growth consequences of upping tax on lenders after a leaked memo from Angela Rayner called for the Chancellor to launch a cash grab on banks. Reeves was sent a memo by the Deputy Prime Minister ahead of the spring Statement, which called for an annual £700m hike on [...]
Close Brothers shares drop as costs rise from motor finance threat

May 21, 2025

Close Brothers said fees and expenses were still at an “elevated level” in a third-quarter update on Wednesday as motor finance troubles continued. The group’s net expenses hit £13.9m for the period, compared to £11.6m for the third-quarter in 2024. The lender said it continued to experience heightened “professional fees and expenses” following the Financial [...]
Currys: Shares dip despite interest rates helping sales at retailer

May 21, 2025

Electrical retailer Currys has reported a jump in profit after sales jumped thanks in part to a boost from lower interest costs. In a trading update on Wednesday, the firm said it expects pre-tax profit to come in at £162m, up 37 per cent year-on-year. Previous guidance had indicated profit for the period ending May [...]
What will stricter buy now pay later regulations mean for Klarna?

May 20, 2025

The government is clamping down on the “wild west” of buy now, pay later (BNPL) but this could spark trouble for industry veterans in a competitive sector. The Treasury is set to bring BNPL providers under the supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority, meaning they will have to adhere to the stricter frameworks of the [...]
MPs grill Barclays on outages as HSBC raises cyber attack concerns

May 20, 2025

Bank chiefs have said they are ramping up spend on cyber defences after a spate of attacks have blighted the retail sector. HSBC’s UK boss Ian Stuart told the Treasury Committee the bank’s work on cyber protection and IT infrastructure was the “biggest expense in the business”. “Cyber security is at the top of the [...]
Starmer meets BlackRock’s Larry Fink for growth talks

May 20, 2025

The Prime Minister this morning met the boss of the world’s largest money manager, in the latest such conversation as part of ministers’ growth agenda. Sir Keir Starmer held discussions with Larry Fink, who leads the $11.6tn giant BlackRock. Fink was pictured leaving Downing Street on Tuesday morning. This follows on from the American billionaire’s [...]

‘Expect to be spied on’: MI5 chief warns UK tech startups over foreign threats

Football regulator warns Burnham: I’ll quit if ministers meddle in Manchester City

Artificial is a terrifying look at AI – and the year’s most important film

By: Samuel Norman

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