Natwest shares jump as stamp duty rush and market chaos boost income May 2, 2025 Natwest beat analysts’ first-quarter profit expectations after market volatility and a rush to beat stamp duty boosted takings. The FTSE 100 giant booked a £1.8bn pre-tax profit, surpassing the £1.6bn pencilled in by analysts. Shares in the lender rose over three per cent during early trading on Friday. Total income rose 3.8 per cent to [...]
Lloyds costs soar as lender increases provisions after tariff turmoil May 1, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s profit took a hit in the first three months of the year as the domestic-focused bank’s operating costs soared. The FTSE 100 giant, which includes Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, met analyst expectations for pre-tax profit at £1.5bn – marking a seven per cent drop from the first quarter of 2024. [...]
Santander UK’s provisions surge after branch closure backlash April 30, 2025 Santander UK was struck with a surge in provisions in its first-quarter report as backlash mounted to its branch closure operation. The Spanish-headquartered lender’s provisions for liabilities and charges rose 69 per cent to £140m. The firm said £42m of this was driven by “charges relating to changes to our branch network”. This comes as [...]
Barclays shares jump as investment arm cashes in on market storm April 30, 2025 Barclays enjoyed a bumper first three months of 2025 as its investment and private banking arms cashed in on market volatility. The bank’s share rose over 1.5 per cent during early trading on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 giant’s investment bank bolstered income by 16 per cent to £3.9bn, compared to £3.3bn from the same period [...]
Cheaper mortgages to support sales as house price growth slows April 29, 2025 Lower demand and higher supply caused house price growth to slow in March, but analysts expect an improvement in affordability to boost prices in the coming months. House price growth slowed to 1.6 per cent annually in March, down from 1.9 per cent at the end of 2024, according to Zoopla’s latest house price index. [...]
Crisis, debt and a £46bn bailout: Inside Natwest’s return to private ownership April 24, 2025 Natwest is set to end one of British banking’s longest running sagas, as the lender stands inches away from returning to private ownership for the first time in nearly two decades. The FTSE 100 giant has whittled the UK government’s share in the bank to under three per cent, with a full exit expected in [...]
Clearbank, Allica, Atom: The fast-growing future of UK fintech April 19, 2025 Fintech has planted its flag firmly in the Square Mile. Industry giants Monzo and Starling have become household names, helping London to established itself as a leading global fintech hub. KPMG’s bi-annual fintech report showed UK fintech investment was at £7.9bn last year. And now young firms are growing faster than ever, promising to send a [...]
HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds: Lenders bank on interest rate cut as mortgage ‘price war’ heats up April 17, 2025 Top UK lenders are offering more mortgages to prospective house buyers, the Bank of England has revealed, as falling interest rates stir up a “price war” on the high street. The Bank’s credit conditions survey revealed that the burgeoning supply of mortgages would come against a levelling off in demand in the three months to [...]
Can tech help the state of the UK property market? April 16, 2025 Despite its vast size, the UK property industry lags much of the rest of the economy on technology adoption, with highly fragmented and deeply traditional ways of doing business. Many of these businesses still rely on outdated practices rooted in manual labour and legacy systems. While consumer expectations have shifted towards seamless, tech-enhanced experiences, the [...]
UK house prices hit record high in April despite stamp duty changes April 14, 2025 The average UK house price rose 1.4 per cent in April despite fears of a market slowdown in the wake of changes to stamp duty. UK house prices hit a new record high of £377,182, according to Rightmove. Analysts said that lower mortgage rates have offset the impact of stamp duty changes and the typical [...]