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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Close Brothers shares plunge on new ‘material’ motor finance hit

October 9, 2025

Shares in FTSE 250 lender Close Brothers sank on Thursday after the firm said it expects to increase its provisions for the motor finance scandal. The bank – which has a £9.5bn loan book with over 20 per cent car finance loans – sunk nearly ten per cent to 472.60p. It follows the Financial Conduct [...]
HSBC shares sink on play to take control of Hong Kong bank

October 9, 2025

HSBC shares tumbled on Thursday morning as the bank laid out plans to suspend its buyback program in order to buy out minority shareholders in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Baak. The FTSE 100 banking juggernaut has offered to pay HK$155 per share for the 36 per cent not already owned by the bank. The proposal [...]
Lloyds Bank set to increase motor finance provisions

October 9, 2025

Lloyds Banking Group said on Thursday morning it would “likely… be required” to hike its motor finance provisions following further updates on the regulatory redress scheme. The FTSE 100 banking titan – which owns the UK’s largest motor finance lender Black Horse – currently leads the pack for £1.2bn in provisions. The Financial Conduct Authority [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Lloyds and HSBC stock tumble drags index into red

October 9, 2025

Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. While the FTSE has been on a tear since the start of the year, there’s no denying that the glittering allure of gold is the real asset that investors can’t turn their eyes away from. A flurry of political drama across several major economies has reignited fears [...]
Autumn Budget: ‘Window is closing’ on Labour’s growth mission

October 9, 2025

Ahead of the Autumn Budget, City Reporter Samuel Norman sits down with top industry names for a Budget Briefing. This week, chief executive of BusinessLDN shares what he thinks could be the capital’s 21st century moment. The “window is closing” on the government’s mission to achieve economic growth, the boss of London’s business advocacy group [...]
Nine in ten investors would back UK stocks if stamp duty scrapped

October 9, 2025

Rachel Reeves is facing renewed calls to scrap stamp duty in a bid to boost the City’s market attractiveness on the global stage. Almost nine in ten UK retail investors said they would hike their investment in the country’s stocks if the levy – often dubbed a ‘shares tax’ – was scrapped, according to fresh [...]
Motor finance lenders gear up for ‘forensic test of discipline’ over redress scheme

October 8, 2025

The Financial Conduct Authority has softened the motor finance blow for lenders but experts say firms won’t be able to shift into a new gear just yet. The City watchdog has priced the cost of its industry-wide redress scheme at £11bn – a hefty sum but far below the eye-watering £44bn previously floated. Just over [...]
Bank of England sounds alarm on ‘high risk’ AI bubble

October 8, 2025

The Bank of England has warned of the potential for a “sharp correction” in global markets due to the “stretched” stock valuations from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The central bank’s Financial Policy Committee has warned a crash in the roaring value of US tech giants could spark trouble overseas. “A crystallisation of such global [...]
JP Morgan beefs up seaside UK office as it backs ‘talent of tomorrow’

October 8, 2025

US banking juggernaut JP Morgan has announced a hefty UK investment as part of plans to beef up its home base in the country. The bank said it will invest over £300m into its Bournemouth campus, which will help facilitate a new building and upgraded facilities for the sites 5,300 employees. The firm – which [...]
Motor finance: Lloyds, Barclays shares jump as FCA softens blow

October 8, 2025

Shares in motor finance lenders rallied on Wednesday morning after the Financial Conduct Authority dropped a major update on its industry-wide redress scheme. Lloyds Banking Group – which owns the UK’s largest motor finance provider, Black Horse – was up over two per cent to 85.06p. Meanwhile, Close Brothers, which just last week set aside [...]

Business confidence hits two-year high ahead of Budget

Women’s rugby can teach the men’s game exactly what it needs right now

Electra/Persona at the National Theatre review: A dull mash-up of Sophocles and Bergman

By: Samuel Norman

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