FCA softens remortgaging rules in dash for growth July 22, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is set to remove red tape on remortgaging in the latest sign public bodies are tearing up their rulebooks to align with the government’s growth agenda. In new measures introduced by the City regulator, mortgage holders will be able to reduce the terms of their borrowing and switch to new [...]
Natwest and Lloyds: What to expect from FTSE 100 bank earnings next week July 21, 2025 The FTSE 100’s banking titans, Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC are gearing up for what promises to be an interesting half-year reporting season. Lloyds and Natwest will kick off earnings on July 24 and July 25 followed by peers Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered the following week. The first quarter was defined by President Donald Trump’s [...]
UK bank profits in focus as lenders await critical motor finance court ruling July 20, 2025 Investors will be hoping UK banks will report solid earnings as lenders await the outcome of a critical court judgment that could unleash a major car finance compensation scheme. Lloyds Banking Group will kick off the sector’s half-year earnings with its results on Thursday, followed by NatWest Group on Friday. It comes at a significant [...]
House prices ‘continue to surprise’ as average property value ticks up in May July 16, 2025 UK house prices rose again in May, bucking predictions of a slowdown in the market after stamp duty relief was axed earlier this year. The average price for a UK property reached £269,000 in May, up 3.9 per cent year on year and 1.1 per cent month on month. The bulk of this increase was [...]
Housebuilding targets are one thing, but we need mortgage reform too July 16, 2025 Increasing the supply of new homes won’t make homeownership more affordable by itself – we need new kinds of mortgages too, says James Browne The government’s planning reforms that aim to increase the housing stock by 1.5m homes by the end of the parliament are a welcome step towards addressing Britain’s housing crisis. But supply [...]
Bank of England unveils shake up of financial crisis banking rules July 15, 2025 The Bank of England has unveiled a sweeping package of reforms aimed at easing the regulatory burden on smaller and mid-sized banks, marking a major shakeup of the post-financial crisis rulebook. The central bank’s changes include a one-year delay to key parts of the Basel 3.1 reforms – the UK’s version of international banking rules [...]
Rachel Reeves eyes boost for first-time buyers with mortgage reforms July 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves will today unveil a fleet of reforms in a bid to boost home ownership as she plans to slash ‘financial red tape’. Speaking in Leeds ahead of her Mansion House address, the Chancellor will announce plans for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to increase high loan-to-income mortgages (over 4.5 times a buyer’s income) [...]
Mortgage brokers on chopping block as AI overhaul gains pace July 14, 2025 Mortgage brokers could be the latest roles to be swallowed up by the spread of AI as homebuyers deploy modern tech in the space of cumbersome traditional homebuying services. AI has taken a dominant role for buyers with over a third using the tech to explore their options. Early adopters cited AI as streamlining product [...]
Cash Isa limits set to be left untouched at next week’s Mansion House speech July 13, 2025 Cash Isas will be left untouched at next week’s Mansion House speech, in a move that has been welcomed by savings experts. Speculation had been mounting that plans to cut the annual tax-free cash Isa allowance could be announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Mansion House speech on July 15. But the PA news agency understands [...]
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 [...]