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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Rolls-Royce shares rocket to recovery as FTSE 100 takes off

April 1, 2026

Shares in City heavyweight Rolls-Royce helped lead London’s blue-chip index higher this morning as markets were buoyed by hopes of peacetalks in the Middle East. Rolls-Royce stock soared as much as seven per cent on open to 1,215.00p. It followed comments from Donald Trump that the US would “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks”. [...]
Monzo ditches US operations after boardroom reshuffle

April 1, 2026

UK fintech Monzo has abandoned its ambitions to expand into the US after ailing efforts to crack the market. The digital bank is set to close its accounts for existing customers by June, whilst new customers will stop being on-boarded. The move to shutter US operations will lead to the axing of around 50 employees. [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks boom as Trump signals end to Iran war; Starmer eyes closer ties to EU

April 1, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. President Trump has made his clearest indication yet that the war in Iran might soon come to a close, saying the US will “leave” Iran in “two to three weeks” when they are certain the regime will not be able to build a nuclear weapon [...]
Monzo and Revolut take banking battle to the playground

April 1, 2026

Banks are turning their attention to the younger generation and in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at the money to be made with Gen Alpha. The Tooth Fairy is losing her magic touch. After centuries of cultural dominance in the under-the-pillow money market, the primary dealer of calcium-for-cash faces a hostile takeover. [...]
Motor finance compensation to ‘to fire starting gun’ on banking M&A

March 31, 2026

The financial watchdog’s long-awaited motor finance redress scheme is predicted to “fire the starting gun” on a wave of deals throughout the banking sector. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the final rules for its redress programme on Monday, with the bill for lenders expected to come in at just north of £9bn, down from [...]
Blackrock mulls a move to HSBC’s Canary Wharf tower

March 31, 2026

Blackrock is mulling a move to HSBC’s Canary Wharf skyscraper with the site one of a number of locations viewed by the firm as it scouts for a new London headquarters. The world’s largest asset manager has taken a look at the 8 Canada Square tower, which HSBC is set to vacate next year. But [...]
Lloyds and Close Brothers shares rally as banks ‘assess’ impact of motor finance redress

March 31, 2026

Shares in UK motor finance lenders had a volatile opening this morning as markets digested the final rules of the financial watchdog’s industry-wide redress scheme. Lloyds Banking Group – the owner of the nation’s largest motor finance lender Black Horse – crept up over one per cent in early trading to tip over the 92p [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up; Fuel shortage fears hit airlines; Unilever nears food deal

March 31, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices are on track for its biggest monthly gain on record for March following the outbreak of war in Iran. It comes as the war in Iran continues to cause ripples through the market, with Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices [...]
FCA slashes banks’ motor finance payouts as compensation scheme finalised

March 30, 2026

City banks are set to face a more than £9bn motor finance bill after the UK’s financial watchdog laid out plans for its long-awaited motor finance redress scheme in a major U-turn after months of backlash. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed the details of its industry-wide redress scheme for the car mis-selling saga on [...]
For FSCS sake: Meet the body that protects Britain’s savers in a financial crisis

March 30, 2026

As echoes of 2008 percolate through the banking system, the body that serves to protect Britain in a financial crisis says it’s ready to weather any storm. A combination of fears around private credit, the “stretched” value of artificial intelligence firms and more recently, concerns around a global energy shock, have made top bankers sound [...]

Labour will regret the Renters’ Rights Act

NBA-EuroLeague talks at an impasse, adding uncertainty to bidding process

What’s on in London in May

By: Samuel Norman

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