Financial services firms dealt tens of millions in regulatory fines July 17, 2025 While deregulation may be the political mood, UK watchdogs are sharpening their swords as banking giants bleed millions in regulatory fines. In under just ten days, the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England handed out £74.9m worth of fines to a trio of UK financial services firms. Leading the pack, and most recently, was [...]
Barclays battles to take down scam impersonation website July 16, 2025 Barclays has battled to take down a scam impersonation website that could have stolen millions from its customers. The website, which called itself “Barclays Finance”, featured the Barclays logo and included “Barclays” in its domain name, was identified by City AM on Monday and claimed to be able to process money transfer payments on behalf [...]
Barclays slapped with £42m fine for financial crime failings July 16, 2025 Barclays has been hit with a £42m fine by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for separate instances where the bank failed in its financial crime risk management. The City watchdog blasted Barclays for failing to check it had gathered “sufficient information to understand the money laundering risk” before it opened a client money account for [...]
Reeves seeks to spark retail investor revolution July 15, 2025 High street banks Barclays and Lloyds will lead an advertising campaign to encourage more Brits into retail investing as part of a wider effort to get savers to boost the UK economy. In rallying calls to financial services, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has unveiled a campaign to encourage savers to invest in stocks and bonds, drawing [...]
First-time buyer demand for furniture and the ‘lipstick effect’ boost June sales July 15, 2025 Demand for furniture and beauty goods caused retail sales to rise in June, boosted by good weather and slowly-recovering consumer confidence. Sales in the UK rose 3.1 per cent year on year in June, against a decline of 0.2 per cent in June 2024, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). “Retailers will [...]
Exclusive: Panmure Liberum to ‘reinvigorate’ City market with banking tie-up July 15, 2025 Investment bank Panmure Liberum has joined forces with Nedbank in a push to expand their reach across equity capital markets and drive dual-listings across the UK and South Africa. London-headquartered Panmure will collaborate with Nedbank’s corporate and investment banking division to produce equity research across UK and South African markets. The deal aims to provide [...]
High inflation ‘not sufficient’ to scupper Bank of England interest rate cuts July 14, 2025 June inflation data showing a 3.4 per cent year-on-year rise in prices would not put Bank of England officials off voting for an interest rate cut in August, leading economists have said. A Bloomberg poll of City analysts has predicted that inflation will remain above the Bank’s two per cent target as price growth is [...]
Which UK banks are next in line for a takeover? July 11, 2025 As the next wave of banking consolidation kicks off, specialist lenders are in the fray to be swallowed up. The industry has seen a flood of mergers and acquisitions in recent years, of which the latest was a landmark tie-up between Santander and TSB Bank. Santander snapped up 12-year old British high street lender TSB [...]
Banks shut eight branches a week since 2016 July 10, 2025 British banks have accelerated their retreat from the high street, shutting an average of eight branches a week since 2016 in a dash to bulk up digital offerings. Nearly 3,700 sites closed between 2016 and 2024, creating 41 ‘banking deserts,’ which refer to local authorities where at least one branch shut for every 10,000 residents. [...]
Labour’s Mansion House will be lift-off or letdown for banks July 9, 2025 Britain’s banking sector will be keeping a close eye on Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House speech on July 15 in which the Chancellor will lay out Labour’s roadmap for financial services. Banks are set to take centre stage in the Treasury’s Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy as Reeves looks to harness the sector to power [...]