Andrew Bailey calls for lower interest rates if job market stalls July 14, 2025 The Governor of the Bank of England has called for more dramatic cuts to interest rates if the jobs market sees a substantial slowdown. In an interview with The Times, Andrew Bailey insisted: “I really do believe the path is downward” for rates. He said that businesses are “adjusting employment” following Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes [...]
BT powers ahead as UK tech services offer rare growth signal July 11, 2025 BT Group has become one of the standout performers of the FTSE 100 this year, with its share price climbing over 34 per cent since January, and hitting a near five-year high. The telecoms and broadband giant is being closely watched as it ramps up fibre roll-out, explores strategic moves around its Openreach infrastructure arm, [...]
Bank of England interest rate cut ‘almost certain’ after poor growth July 11, 2025 Fresh growth figures have fuelled speculation of an August interest rate cut in a bid to give the waning UK economy a shot of life. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Friday the UK economy shrunk for the second consecutive month with a 0.1 per cent contraction in May. Deutsche Bank’s chief economist [...]
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 [...]
Protecting the truth in a shifting communications compliance environment July 10, 2025 The UK financial services landscape has undergone a seismic transformation over the past 15 years, necessitating adaptation to emerging technologies, a rapidly changing policy environment, and new client expectations.
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. [...]
The Bank of England is dying for data on private markets July 10, 2025 City Editor Simon Hunt on the stories that caught his eye this week Andrew Bailey’s svelte profile has attracted much City chatter the past year. Some say the guv’nor has a strict exercise regime to lose weight; skeptics reckon it’s Ozempic. Here’s my theory: Bailey is wearing so many different hats, the constant switch between [...]
Something fiscal this way comes: Reeves haunted by ghosts of Truss and the OBR July 10, 2025 Haunted by the legacy of Truss and bound by the warnings of the OBR, Chancellor Rachel Reeves now faces a political and fiscal tragedy of her own, as internal rebellion and economic risks threaten her grip on stability, says Helen Thomas OBR, OBR, wherefore art thou OBR? The three letter acronym that oversees government finances [...]
Bank of England hits Mastercard subsidiary with £12m fine July 9, 2025 A Mastercard-owned company has been fined almost £12m by the Bank of England after it failed to fully comply with a regulatory order to fix weaknesses in its risk management. Vocalink – which was acquired by Mastercard in 2017 – has been slapped with the £11.9m fine due to failing to meet directions from the [...]
Bailey: Don’t force pension funds into UK assets July 9, 2025 Andrew Bailey has warned the government against forcing pension funds to invest in UK assets, saying that while reform to the sector was essential, he would prefer to see it done in a “natural” way. Treasury ministers have refused to rule out taking measures to make British pension funds allocate a certain share of their [...]