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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Retail sales hit highest since 2022 in surprise boost for economy

October 24, 2025

Retail sales jumped to their highest level since 2022 in September, boosted by sunny weather that drove a surge in demand for clothing. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed retail sales were 0.9 per cent higher than the previous three months. Sales volumes climbed 0.5 per cent in September, a significant boost from [...]
Natwest shares jump after cost-cutting boosts profit

October 24, 2025

Natwest stock surged in early trading this morning after the lender posted a major bump in third-quarter profit following its cost-cutting regime. The FTSE 100 giant’s operating profit before tax surged over 30 per cent in the third quarter to £2.2bn, up from £1.7bn last year. Shares were up over five per cent as markets [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Natwest ups guidance, Retail sales rise

October 24, 2025

Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. As we get closer and closer to the Budget, businesses are becoming more and more vocal on their concerns over what could be in store. Yesterday it was the turn of London estate agent Foxton’s, which warned of softened demand as a result of Budget uncertainty. “Macroeconomic [...]
Motor finance: Where do the banks, regulator and Treasury stand?

October 24, 2025

The UK banking sector had hoped the Supreme Court’s motor finance ruling would finally switch off the hazard lights and allow lenders to return to business as usual. The industry was handed a lukewarm win by the highest court in the land, who ruled in favour of the banks on two out of three cases. [...]
Rachel Reeves launches ‘Scale-up Unit’ in bid to woo fintechs

October 24, 2025

Rachel Reeves will today launch the Treasury’s latest initiative to woo the UK fintech sector with the introduction of a “Scale-Up Unit”. In a visit to Leeds, the Chancellor will pledge to “super charge” UK innovation with the new body, which will be jointly led by the financing and banking watchdogs. The service will first [...]
Lloyds finance boss refuses to rule out motor finance legal challenge

October 23, 2025

The finance boss of Lloyds Banking Group has refused to rule out a legal challenge to the financial watchdog’s motor finance redress scheme after the bank’s provision for payouts under the scheme dealt a blow to its bottom line. William Chalmers, the chief financial officer of Lloyds, said the FTSE 100 giant was “concerned” about [...]
Lloyds profit slides 36 per cent after hiking motor finance provisions

October 23, 2025

Lloyds Banking Group recorded a major hit to profit in the third quarter after the group was forced to nearly-double its provisions for the motor finance scandal. The bank posted a third-quarter profit before tax of £1.2bn, falling 36 per cent from the £1.8bn recorded in 2024. For the year-to-date the FTSE 100 titan has [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Lloyds takes profit beat, LSEG new investment

October 23, 2025

Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. Just how much is the motor finance redress scheme going to cost Britain’s biggest banks? Yesterday’s results from Barclays offered an insight – and it wasn’t pretty. The Canary Wharf-based bank almost quadrupled the provision it had set aside to cover motor finance claims, from under £100m [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves told avoid ‘pick and mix’ tax grabs

October 23, 2025

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, the managing director of TheCityUK warns Reeves not to patch up the tax tire just for it to deflate once more. The Chancellor has touted financial and professional services for their role “at the [...]
Banking watchdog boss warns easing capital rules ‘highly risky’

October 22, 2025

The head of the UK’s banking watchdog has warned of high risk if the UK loosens its rules around lenders’ capital framework as the government pushes for economic growth. Sam Woods, the head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said requiring banks to no longer set aside capital for top-tier sovereign bonds would “be equivalent [...]

Santander: Fans to spend thousands watching World Cup from Britain

Santander: Fans to spend thousands watching World Cup from Britain

Inside City’s latest Irish pub: London’s poshest Guinness served here

By: Samuel Norman

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