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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Pay awards stagnate ahead of national insurance hike

March 19, 2025

Pay growth at UK businesses is stagnating as businesses look to cut costs ahead of the Chancellor’s upcoming tax hikes. Figures compiled by HR data and insights provider Brightmine show that pay growth slumped following Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, and have since stagnated at three per cent. The current figure now aligns with the Office [...]
UK fintechs sound alarm on spike in organised crime

March 19, 2025

Seven in ten UK fintechs said fraud volumes in their business shot up over the last year, according to new research. Alloy’s State of UK Fraud Report stated 79 per cent of UK fintech firms lost at least £500,000 to fraud in the 12 months to October 2024. Two in five recorded losses between £1m [...]
Analysts put Close Brothers shares ‘under review’ as stock plummets

March 18, 2025

Peel Hunt analysts placed Close Brothers shares ‘under review’ after the banking group suffered a £104m loss in the first half of its 2025 financial year. The lender said losses were driven by the £165m reserved for potential motor finance payouts, along with costs of complaint handling and legal expenses. Close Brothers’ stock sank as [...]
Fintech unicorn council joins Revolut and Zilch bosses for Treasury meeting

March 18, 2025

Britain’s top fintech officials met Rachel Reeves on Tuesday morning in the Chancellor’s latest financial summit to boost economic growth. The co-chairs of Innovate Finance’s Unicorn Council for UK Fintech joined leading executives at the Treasury’s meeting, City AM has learned. The council, which launched in March 2024, aims to provide the government with policy [...]
Close Brothers shares plunge as motor finance costs mount

March 18, 2025

Banking group Close Brothers plunged to a £104m loss in the first half of 2025 after the firm set aside provisions for the motor finance scandal. The lender recorded a pre-tax loss in the first half of its 2025 financial year, compared to a profit of £88.1m in the same period of 2024 due to [...]
Reeves doubles down on fiscal rules amidst waning headroom

March 17, 2025

Rachel Reeves doubled down on her fiscal rules in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday, despite speculation that economic conditions have left the chancellor with little or no room for manoeuvre. Following the Autumn Budget, Reeves was left with a £9.9bn buffer to maintain her key rule for day-to-day spending to be funded by [...]
AI adoption at UK banks lags behind US rivals

March 17, 2025

UK banks are playing catch up to their US and European counterparts on AI adoption, new research has revealed. Evident Insight’s latest Responsible AI Report showed US banks led the way for AI specialists, with 20 positions alone at JPMorganChase – three times the average lender. Co-founder and co-chief executive of Evident Insights Alexandra Mousavizadeh [...]
British fintech unicorn OakNorth acquires US community bank

March 17, 2025

OakNorth, the British digital banking unicorn, has acquired a US community bank as it eyes overseas expansion. The firm announced on Monday it had agreed on a stock-for-stock transaction for Michigan-based Community Unity Bank (CUB). The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and follows the Federal Reserve and New York State Department of Financial Services [...]
Phoenix Group shares soar after upgrading outlooks

March 17, 2025

Shares in Phoenix Group rallied over six per cent on Monday morning after the firm smashed its cash generation target and upgraded its future guidance. The FTSE 100 company, which owns insurer Standard Life, recorded a 31 per cent increase in operating profit for 2024, which hit £825m. The group met its 2026 target of [...]
Over half of business leaders expect a recession this year

March 17, 2025

Business leaders’ confidence is at a “crossroads” just weeks ahead of the Government’s tax hikes kicking in, according to fresh research. BCG’s Centre for Growth surveyed 1,500 bosses in its “State of UK Business” report and found 57 per think a recession is likely this year. This follows Friday’s release from the Office for National [...]

Housebuilders pull out of London over Labour planning ‘nightmare’

Nascar eyes US military bases as venues for UK race in ‘Operation Overseas Trojan Horse’

Timekettle LiveTalk AI translation earbuds reviewed

By: Samuel Norman

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