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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Ministers call in HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds bosses for small business lending talks

May 6, 2025

Top bank bosses were summoned for talks with ministers on Tuesday after a government report revealed that small businesses were having difficulty securing loans. Senior executives from HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds will be in attendance for the meeting, which will be chaired by minister for small business Gareth Thomas. A report from the Department of [...]
Natwest to ‘outperform’ sector with bumper year, analysts predict

May 6, 2025

RBC analysts slapped a “Sector Outperform” rating on Natwest after the lender beat expectations in its first-quarter report. The analysts upgraded full-year profit before tax estimates by three per cent to £7.1bn, compared to £6.2bn in 2024, and upped the stock’s target price to 475p from 465p. They said the upgrades were driven by net [...]
FTSE 100 extends record win streak as gold miners rally

May 6, 2025

The FTSE 100’s record run, fuelled by a recovery in investor sentiment following a pullback in US tariff threats, extended to 16 days on Tuesday. The blue-chip index had another nail-biting session fluctuating between small gains and losses before scraping a 0.01 per cent win. Gold miners led the risers as Endeavour and Fresnillo topped [...]
Argentex shares crash as firm fights to survive

May 6, 2025

Argentex shares plummeted nearly 90 per cent in early Tuesday deals as the firm resumed trading on London’s AIM. The embattled currency firm suspended its shares from trading on April 22 after it said its liquidity had significantly worsened as the US dollar weakened. The company then agreed to a takeover from rival IFX on [...]
UK scale-ups face crisis as growth capital hits seven-year low

May 6, 2025

Growth capital has hit a seven-year low on both volume and value with the UK start-up to scale-up pipeline “broken”, a fresh report has warned. Figures seen by City AM revealed Series A funding – investments of £2m to £10m for startups looking to grow – had slumped to £2.4bn in the 12 months to [...]
HSBC Asset Management’s sustainability boss to depart as sector pivots on ESG

May 5, 2025

The top sustainability boss at HSBC Asset Management is set to leave the firm amid chief executive Georges Elhedery’s review of the lender’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. Erin Leonard’s exit, as first reported by Reuters, follows Celine Herweijer, the bank’s former chief sustainability officer, leaving the firm at the end of last year. [...]
FTSE 100 lenders cash in on market turmoil but provisions climb

May 5, 2025

FTSE 100 banking giants saw trading income spike in the first quarter as investors sold-off stocks in the face of geopolitical tensions, but tariff threats continued to weigh on future earnings. HSBC kicked off reporting season pocketing a $9.5bn (£7.1bn) pre-tax profit, which surged ahead of the $7.8bn pencilled in by analysts. Barclays and Natwest [...]
Rachel Reeves has promised UK fintech the world – now she must deliver

May 4, 2025

Judgement day looms for Rachel Reeves, and UK fintech will be handing her the verdict. In a keynote speech at Innovate Finance’s 11th global summit, the Chancellor confirmed the Treasury’s inaugural Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy would be published on 15 July. Reeves has lauded the industry’s growth and touted the achievements of fintech [...]
Breadmakers Hovis and Kingsmill in merger talks

May 3, 2025

The owners of two of Britain’s biggest bread producers – Hovis and Kingsmill – are reportedly in discussions regarding a merger between the two firms as challenges deepen for the market. Associated British Foods (ABF), the owner of Kingsmill’s parent company Allied Bakeries, and investment firm Endless, which owns Hovis, are in talks about a [...]
Jaguar Land Rover reboots US car exports despite tariff woes

May 3, 2025

Jaguar Land Rover has begun sending cars to the US again after halting shipping on the back of President Donald Trump’s trade war. The first batch of vehicles headed to the US in nearly a month shipped out from the UK on Wednesday, as first reported by The Times. The British firm paused deliveries across [...]

Bayern Munich valued at £3.1bn as German energy giant buys stake in Harry Kane’s club

Bayern Munich valued at £3.1bn as German energy giant buys stake in Harry Kane’s club

Prima Facie film review: Cynthia Erivo’s harrowing tear-jerker

By: Samuel Norman

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