Lloyds Bank analyst ‘favourite’ after annual results February 25, 2025 Analysts have slapped a ‘Buy’ rating on Barclays, Natwest and Lloyds shares following annual results, but said the latter was the “favourite” of the pack. The three UK giants all posted annual results this month, with Barclays and Natwest meeting profit estimates and Lloyds taking a hit. Jonathan Pierce and Priya Rathod, analysts at Jefferies, [...]
Analysts slap 359p price target on Barclays shares after results February 25, 2025 Analysts have reiterated their ‘Buy’ rating on Barclays shares after the lender beat expectations when it reported results earlier this month. The FTSE 100 lender booked a profit before tax of £8.1bn in 2024, ahead of the £8.07bn estimated. “We believe strong capital generation should support a higher valuation and plans to return more than [...]
London Stock Exchange boss: UK needs to change ‘perverse’ view on retail investment February 25, 2025 "We have a regulatory structure that has historically made it easier to buy a riskier product and then hardest to buy the least risky product in the stack, which is perverse," she said.
Getting Brits to invest will take more than tweaking ISAs February 25, 2025 Rachel Reeves is considering reducing the tax-free limit on cash ISAs to encourage people to invest in stock and shares, but she should go even further, says Emma Revell It is one of the most popular and best understood savings tools available for Brits, but there could be a big shake up coming for the [...]
Monument Bank looks to the US for possible IPO February 24, 2025 Monument Bank, one of the UK’s fastest-growing challenger banks, has reportedly told investors it wants to go public in the US before 2027 – marking another blow for the London market. The bank is in talks to raise £200m in private funding before pursuing a flotation on New York’s Nasdaq exchange, as reported by Sky [...]
Why more City workers should join the Army February 24, 2025 If you want to boost UK defence, support your workers joining the Army's Reserve Forces, writes Lord Mayor Alastair King.
FTSE 100 lenders pocket record total profit February 21, 2025 Standard Chartered was the last of the FTSE 100’s biggest banks to release its annual results, as analysts praised the strong performance across all of the Big Five. Barclays, HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds and Standard Chartered booked an all-time high of £50.3bn in profit in 2024 and returned £35bn to investors. Russ Mould, investment director at [...]
Ex-Lloyds executive wants to ‘fintech’ mortgages February 21, 2025 A former Lloyds executive wants to accelerate the mortgage process by bringing AI into the mix. Stuart Cheetham worked at Lloyds bank for over a decade, spanning senior roles across Asia. He was chief executive in Hong Kong and managing director in Japan. However, since departing the Big Four bank, Cheetham founded his own company [...]
Lloyds shares jump despite profit slump February 20, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s shares jumped three per cent following market open, despite recording a profit hit after the firm set aside additional funds for potential motor finance payouts. The FTSE 100 lender’s pre-tax profit was down 20 per cent at £6bn, compared to £7.5bn in 2023. Analysts estimated the bank’s profit before tax at £6.5bn, [...]
Why savers should consider a flexible ISA February 20, 2025 Savers are looking for ways to use their ISA allowance before the tax year ends, and a flexible ISA is well worth considering. A flexible ISA is tax-friendly as it allows users to withdraw money and repay it without affecting their annual allowance, so long as any money is repaid in the same tax year. [...]