Legacy banks must ‘radically modernise’ or lose to fintech stars, says former Barclays boss January 1, 2026 A decade ago, Antony Jenkins was ousted from his role as chief executive of Barclays and months later warned the banking sector was reaching an “Uber moment”. Jenkins declared technology would be an “unstoppable force” in the banking sector and could lead to hundreds of branch closures and potentially slash the industry’s workforce by half. [...]
FCA to ‘rebalance’ risk in mortgage market in first time buyer boost December 15, 2025 The UK’s financial watchdog is planning a major overhaul of mortgage market rules in a bid to support more Brits getting on the housing ladder. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it aims to “rebalance risk” in the market to encourage innovation and allow a greater number of people to get access to finance. “Rebalancing [...]
First time buyer borrowing jumps a third in 2025 December 13, 2025 Borrowing by first time buyers has increased by just under a third year on year as access to finance loosened and Brits rushed to get on the housing ladder. Mortgage lenders forwarded a record £82.8bn of mortgage debt to 390,000 first time buyers in the year to September 2025, according to analysis by Savills, a [...]
PRISM, Pepper Advantage’s Credit and Mortgage Servicing Platform, Goes Live December 8, 2025 End-to-end platform automates workflows across the entire credit lifecycle and provides real-time data analysis for lenders, institutional investors and credit managers Over £1.5 billion in AUM representing over 17,000 loans for 12 clients now live
Watchdogs rip up rulebook for building societies in growth boost December 5, 2025 British building societies are in line for a deregulation boost after UK watchdogs announced a joint raft of initiatives aiming to power up the sector. Mutuals – which, contrary to banks, are owned by their members – are set to land a significant growth tailwind following a fresh report from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) [...]
Growing threats to UK financial stability December 4, 2025 What keeps you up at night? For the governor of the Bank of England it’s a long list of threats to the UK’s financial system – so let’s take a look at them. The Bank of England’s latest financial stability report makes for a sobering read. It says “risks to financial stability have increased during [...]
Exclusive: Goldman Sachs, Oaktree and Carlyle to take part in private credit stress test December 3, 2025 Goldman Sachs, Oaktree and Carlyle will take part in the Bank of England’s inaugural stress test of the burgeoning private credit sector this week, City AM can reveal. Britain’s central bank is poised to carry out its first ever “system-wide exploratory scenario exercise” of so-called shadow banks in the coming weeks, in a bid to [...]
Natwest chief: UK ‘closer to start than finish line’ on regulation mission December 2, 2025 The government’s mission to overhaul regulation still has a long distance to go, the boss of Natwest has said, as he warned of “trade-offs” in the pursuit of cutting red tape. Paul Thwaite, the chief executive of Natwest, praised the government and the City watchdog in edging forward in its regulation mission, referencing recent changes [...]
Autumn Budget: Cash ISA tax free allowance slashed to £12,000 November 26, 2025 In a major policy shakeup, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed a slash to the cash ISA ceiling but over 65s will retain the full allowance. After weeks of speculation, Reeves confirmed the ceiling will be cut from £20,000 to £12,000 as of April 2027, as part of her bid to stop people from hoarding cash [...]
Reeves demands bank chiefs back Budget November 25, 2025 Top bank chiefs are expected to praise Rachel Reeves’ Budget measures, according to reports, as the Chancellor looks set to dismiss calls for extra taxes on the sector. Lenders are being encouraged to back the government and follow through with extra investment plans to support Britons up and down the country, a report in the [...]