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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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 [...]
Lloyds Bank boss: No evidence of harm in motor finance scandal

May 20, 2025

Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive faced a grilling from the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday over the lender’s historical exposure to the motor finance market. Charlie Nunn, the bank’s boss, said there was “no evidence of harm” from the firm’s operations in the car financing market. The scandal in the sector headed to the Supreme [...]
Is HSBC turning its back on Europe?

May 20, 2025

When Georges Elhedery took the helm at HSBC, he wasted no time making his mark on the firm. Elhedery plotted a “simpler, more dynamic and agile organisation” in his sweeping restructure first announced in October 2024. One significant change introduced by the new bank chief was splitting the business into “eastern markets” covering the Asia-pacific [...]
Diploma: Shares in FTSE 100 firm rocket after profit upgrade

May 20, 2025

Shares in FTSE 100 firm Diploma rocketed on Tuesday after the firm upgraded full-year guidance and delivered a strong performance for the first six months of its financial year. In its half-year report, the company, which distributes specialised technical products and services, noted a 14 per cent jump in revenue to £728.5m. Organic revenue growth [...]
Smiths Group: Shares jumps as demerger on track

May 20, 2025

British engineering firm Smiths Group posted a boost to revenue in the third quarter as it progressed on demerger plans. The group’s revenue jumped 10.6 per cent on the back of “strong performance and momentum in the order book”. Shares in the group rose over two per cent to 2,100p during early trading on Tuesday. [...]

School of Hard Knocks and Investec celebrate spring rugby tournament

School of Hard Knocks and Investec celebrate spring rugby tournament

Barbican Centre: the brutalist landmark weaving art into everyday London life.

By: Samuel Norman

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