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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Aviva beats profit expectations amidst Direct Line takeover

February 27, 2025

Aviva Plc smashed expectations in its annual profit results amidst its landmark takeover of fellow insurer Direct Line. The FTSE 100 giant posted a 20 per cent increase in operating profit to £1.77bn in 2024. The target surpassed Bloomberg analyst expectations of £1.71bn. Shares in Aviva have returned 11 per cent so far this year, [...]
Yorkshire Building Society profit tumbles as margins fall

February 27, 2025

Profit took a tumble at Yorkshire Building Society, as declining interest rates tightened the firm’s interest margins. The building society booked a £385.2m profit in 2024, compared to the £453.7m pocketed in 2023. The decline was largely due to net interest income falling £49.5m year-on-year, as increased pressure on mortgage and saving books boosted reductions. [...]
St James’s Place swings to annual profit

February 27, 2025

St James’s Place swung to a profit in its annual results as the firm’s turnaround efforts continued to yield results. Britain’s largest wealth manager recorded a £398.4m pre-tax profit, compared to the loss of £9.9m the year prior. Gross inflows for the year totalled £18.4bn, compared to £15.4bn in 2023. Total assets under management at [...]
Metro Bank sells personal loan book in switch to specialist lending

February 26, 2025

Metro Bank is set to sell its £584m portfolio of unsecured personal loans as the lender switches prioritisation to specialist lending. The disposal, which was first flagged as a possibility at the end of January, will generate £11m in gains for the FTSE 250 bank. The deal – with an undisclosed buyer – comes ahead [...]
Barclays research: Regulation worsens investment anxiety

February 26, 2025

Barclays has called on the Government and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to fix investors’ “decision paralysis” through deregulation. How to invest money ranks as the second hardest decision in a person’s life, only behind whether to buy a house, according to fresh research from the bank. As the FCA, in a joint venture with the [...]
Skipton Building Society’s annual results boosted by first-time buyers

February 26, 2025

Skipton Group, which includes the UK’s largest estate agency, Connells and Skipton Building Society, has announced a record return of value to its members after a bumper year at the group. The group’s pre-tax profit fell to £318.6m in 2024, down from £333.4m the year prior. The group cited downward pressure on net interest income [...]
Nine in ten six-figure earners say they are not wealthy

February 26, 2025

An annual income of £213,000 has been declared the benchmark for ‘wealth‘ according to new research from HSBC. HSBC UK’s new report ‘Your Money’s Worth: Defining Wealth in 2025’ revealed nine in 10 high earners do not consider themselves wealthy, with only one per cent of the population identifying as so. The top four per [...]
Government offered lifeline on declining infrastructure investment

February 26, 2025

A new industry group is offering ideas to the government on how to fix miserable infrastructure investment and increase the number of planners. The Purposeful Finance Commission (PFC) has laid out a plan to privately source and administer a £22.5m fund that would aid the Government’s target of hiring 300 additional planners. Rachel Reeves referenced [...]
Monument Bank partners with fintech Firenze

February 25, 2025

Monument Bank has entered a partnership with fintech Firenze to boost the lender’s stronghold among its mass-affluent consumer base. The challenger bank gave Firenze a £160m backing with the aim to scale up its Lombard loan offering for wealth management firms. The Manchester-headquartered fintech, which is just over a year old, offers loans against secure [...]
Zopa doubles office footprint in move to Canary Wharf

February 25, 2025

Fintech unicorn Zopa is set to double its office footprint with plans to relocate to a new headquarters in Canary Wharf. The new office, located at 20 Water Street in Canary Wharf, will span 44,000 square feet and host Zopa’s 900 current employees. The British digital bank, which was founded in 2020, said the move [...]

Wimbledon hikes prize money but refuses to bow to tennis stars’ demands

Wimbledon hikes prize money but refuses to bow to tennis stars’ demands

American whiskey to try: From Bourbon to American single malt

By: Samuel Norman

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