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.

All 1282 Articles

Payments watchdog won’t be abolished ‘any earlier than 2027’

February 4, 2026

The boss of the payments watchdog has said he doesn’t expect the regulator to be officially abolished any earlier than the first quarter of 2027 as criticism grows over the slow progress of reforms in the sector. David Geale, managing director at the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), said he had “not seen the outcome” of [...]
Barclays and Natwest set for bidding war in race to beef up wealth arms

February 4, 2026

Barclays and Natwest are set for a bidding war as the banks prepare to make their play to snap up Evelyn Partners amid the race to beef up wealth management arms. The blue-chip lenders are both gearing up to table offers of over £2bn for the London-based wealth manager. A successful takeover would help enhance [...]
Mandelson branded a ‘naive sucker’ as he tried to build career post-government

February 4, 2026

Peter Mandelson was branded “naive” and a “sucker” in new revelations from the Epstein files that shine a light on Mandelson’s efforts to build a career post-government. The Labour veteran told convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that he had sought the advice of financier Nathaniel Rothschild as he weighed up a role at advisory and investment banking [...]
LSEG, Sage, Rightmove shares fall as Anthropic AI rattles markets

February 4, 2026

Shares in global software giants tumbled again on Wednesday morning as the latest AI innovation from Anthropic rattled global markets. The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) extended Tuesday’s losses falling near two per cent in early trading to lows of 6,774.00p before clawing back some gains. Meanwhile Rightmove led the index’s fallers, with a slump [...]
Santander takes jab at City watchdog as motor finance bill balloons

February 4, 2026

Santander has took another major swipe at the City watchdog after the banking giant hiked its provisions for the motor finance scandal. As it reported full-year results, the bank said its bill for the car mis-selling saga had reached £461m, building on a previous £295m provision. It follows the bank’s UK arm missing its third-quarter [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Beazley seals $15bn Zurich deal, Santander in $12bn takeover

February 4, 2026

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Shares in Europe’s biggest data, publishing and legal software groups slumped on Tuesday after AI giant Anthropic unveiled a new tool aimed directly at in-house lawyers. The move rattled investors who had long viewed the sector as an AI winner. In London, Relx fell close [...]
JP Morgan’s Chase sets sights on UK insurance market

February 4, 2026

Global banking giant JP Morgan has set its sights on the UK insurance market with its consumer arm Chase set to enter the scene. The new offering, branded as Chase Protect, will envelope its essential coverage bundle into one single month fee, designed as an add-on for current account holders. While JP Morgan has operated [...]
Exclusive: Starling’s top investor withdraws support for London IPO

February 4, 2026

Starling’s elusive billionaire backer has gone cold on his ambition for the digital bank to list in London, City AM can reveal, in a move that will heighten fears of the fintech heading to New York for its highly-anticipated IPO. Harald McPike had lobbied for the group to launch its initial public offering in London [...]
Criminal investigation launched into Mandelson’s Downing Street ‘leaks’

February 3, 2026

A criminal investigation has been launched into Peter Mandelson, according to reports. The news comes after the scandal-hit politician decided to step down from the House of Lords following fresh pressure on the Labour veteran after the latest bombshell drop of the Epstein files. The Lord Speaker said on Tuesday afternoon Mandelson would exit the [...]
Big banks bet on gold rally as metals channel meme stock

February 3, 2026

It’s all over for doughnuts and cameras as social media’s retail investors set their sights on a new favourite investment meme. Precious metals’ start to 2026 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. Gold rose 65 per cent last year, hitting multiple fresh records as geopolitical tensions flared. Investors flocked to the traditional safe-haven asset [...]

Starmer would have blocked Mandelson ambassador role, says Lammy

Enhanced Games, Lance Armstrong and the truth about why we hate doping

The watch podcast disrupting the ‘pale, male and stale’ image

By: Samuel Norman

All 1282 Articles

Subscribe