2026 World Cup: How England went from misery to magnet for blue chip brands June 16, 2026 As they begin their 2026 World Cup campaign, the England brand is unrecognisable from 10 years ago – and it is paying off in growing revenues for the FA. This month marks a decade since one of the darkest days in the Football Association’s history, when England’s men were humbled by Iceland – a nation [...]
Investors ‘reluctant’ to splash cash on UK banks amid crisis in Number 10 June 15, 2026 UK banks’ stock prices are being slapped with a political risk premium, City analysts have warned, as turmoil in Downing Street threatens to rock the sector. The FTSE 350 bank index has had a choppy start to the year with financial stocks facing a hammering from the Iran war as investors trimmed their equities exposure. [...]
Interest rates set to be held as inflation to remain ‘elevated’ despite Iran peace deal June 15, 2026 Interest rates are expected to be left unchanged as Bank of England policymakers wait to find out whether the Iran war peace deal holds up. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to keep interest rates at 3.75 per cent at a decision later this week. Its decision would suggest that the Bank is [...]
Revolut price tag ‘just a stepping stone’ to a trillion, says Fuse boss June 12, 2026 Revolut will become a trillion dollar company, one of its most high profile alumni has claimed, with any valuation on the road to that a mere “stepping stone”. The London-born fintech giant – which currently boasts a valuation of $75bn – is tipped to launch another secondary share sale in the second half of this [...]
Barclays pays £180m for loss-making UK fintech Gohenry June 12, 2026 Barclays has snapped up the UK arm of money management app Gohenry in a bid to “turbocharge” its ambitions for youth banking and the mass affluent market. The blue-chip lender revealed on Friday it had bought the fintech firm from its parent company, Acorns, for an undisclosed sum in a deal that is expected to [...]
From mild to wild: What impact will AI have on banking jobs? June 10, 2026 Top banking bosses have issued their AI verdict after Standard Chartered stunned the sector with plans for sweeping job cuts last month. In this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at whether a reckoning could be on the horizon. The big-name banker must have known how the conversation would go when he arrived for lunch with [...]
Lloyds taps $160bn fintech giant to boost small business tech June 9, 2026 Lloyds Bank has sealed a partnership with a $160bn (£119bn) fintech giant to ramp up its payments tech for small-business clients. The blue-chip banking giant has agreed a tie-up with Stripe that will see Lloyds leverage the fintech’s payment infrastructure to provide a suite of tools for its small-business customers. The new offering, named Lloyds Accept, [...]
Banks ‘not ready’ for motor finance scheme, says City watchdog June 9, 2026 The City watchdog has warned that motor finance lenders are “not as ready as we would expect” for the introduction of its long-awaited redress scheme. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has written to the Treasury Committee following inquiries around the legal challenges to its car mis-selling scheme. The regulator published [...]
Soaring petrol prices and Devil Wears Prada 2 help consumer spending return to growth June 9, 2026 Soaring fuel prices and box office hits helped consumer spending return to growth in May, according to fresh data from Barclays. Consumer card spending was up 0.8 per cent year-on-year last month, following a 0.1 per cent dip in April. The rise came as essential spending jumped 0.7 per cent, led by a near 12 [...]
Squarepoint commits £430m to huge London office move after profit soars June 8, 2026 One of London’s biggest investment firms has committed £430m to a major office move as the firm doubles down on its presence in the Square Mile. Squarepoint Capital, which was previously a subsidiary of Barclays before being spun off in 2014, is set to move to a redeveloped 400,000 square foot, 12-storey office on Gresham [...]