Stamp duty on shares is ‘biggest handbrake’ says UK bank chief Markets The boss of a London-listed bank and former Labour party donor has called for stamp duty on shares to be ditched in the Autumn Budget to boost trading from retail investors. Ian Corfield, the boss of Secure Trust Bank, told City AM one of the firm’s “biggest challenges is trying to generate liquidity into the [...]
Revealed: Natwest banked company used by MFS founder to ‘siphon off’ funds Banking Natwest provided banking services to a company allegedly used by the founder of collapsed property lender MFS to divert investors’ cash and “siphon off” funds, City AM can reveal. The bank held the day-to-day account for Twinwin, a company that was allegedly used by Market Financial Solutions founder Paresh Raja to generate fees from clients’ [...]
The European fintech American dream is being called into question Fintech A double US banking application blow has called into question the fintech dream of landing on Wall Street. In this week’s column, Samuel Norman takes a look at the expansion roadmap for Europe’s top fintechs as well as the latest response to the booming profits in UK banks half-year reports. Denied, denied, withdrawn. That is [...]
UK economy to ‘reverse gains’ as construction drags growth August 11, 2026 The UK economy’s modest gains from the first half of the year are set to be reversed as the flagging construction industry is set to hammer growth prospects, economists have said. A poll of economists, tracked by Bloomberg, believe GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent in June, partly unwinding previous gains. Pantheon Macroeconomics analysts said [...]
World Cup leads UK spending boost as confidence rebounds August 11, 2026 Consumer spending across the UK jumped in July as Brits’ splurged on a summer of sport and sunshine, fresh data from Barclays has shown. Card spending jumped two per cent to its highest level in 12 months following a surge in transactions at pubs, bars and clubs during England’s World Cup run. Overall hospitality and [...]
Back to basics: Sainsbury’s gradual retreat from the British high street August 8, 2026 Sainsbury’s deal to sell its catalogue retailer Argos marks the latest step in the grocer’s years-long retreat from a high street conglomerate back to its core food business. The FTSE 100 supermarket giant holds a 15 per cent market share of grocery stores, second only to Tesco. But the firm once had a sprawling business [...]
Apollo snaps up Easyjet after Castlelake walks away August 6, 2026 Easyjet has agreed a £5.7bn takeover deal with Apollo after rival bidder Castlelake pulled out of the bidding process. In a joint announcement with the low-cost airline on Thursday, the American private markets juggernaut said it had “reached an agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended cash acquisition”. The offer has the backing [...]
Citi boss fires warning at government over banking tax August 5, 2026 The boss of Citigroup has warned the government that “money votes with its feet” and there are “very viable” alternatives to London should Andy Burnham decide to hit the banking sector with higher taxes. Dame Jane Fraser, a Scot credited with turning around the third largest bank in the US, said she was “concerned” at [...]
Pepper Advantage Appoints Matthew Wye to Lead UK Credit Management Business August 5, 2026 Aaron Milburn appointed Managing Director, Credit Access, as firm strengthens client relationships
Big bank bosses on alert as tax noise gets louder under Burnham August 5, 2026 Banks have delivered booming profits for the first half of the year. In this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at how the calls for a tax rise on the sector will get louder under the new Prime Minister. “The saxophones are getting louder” is the internet’s new saying to depict growing anxiety. If you [...]