Barclays: Shares in FTSE 100 giant near decade high after upgrade May 13, 2025 Barclays has received a major boost after the FTSE banking giant posted a bumper first quarter, driven by a strong performance in its investment arm. Analysts at RBC have upgraded Barclays’ shares, slapping a 340p target price on the stock – a 14 per cent increase. Shares edged up 0.2 per cent during early trading [...]
Santander rejected £11bn Natwest bid for UK business May 9, 2025 Santander rebuffed an £11bn bid for its UK retail banking division from Natwest earlier this year because it was was too low. The two lenders are no longer in negotiations, according to people familliar with the matter cited by the Financial Times, despite consistent speculation about the fate of the Spanish financial juggernaut’s UK business. [...]
Analysis: What is in the US-UK trade deal and what does it mean? May 8, 2025 The US administration has offered the UK its first trade deal since President Trump turned global trade on its head last month. The UK government will see the deal as a win, at least symbolically, while Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey hailed news of a trade deal as “excellent”. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said reducing [...]
Vanquis and Barclays lead surge in bank complaints amid motor finance May 7, 2025 Banking complaints rocketed by 76 per cent in the second half of 2024 as the motor finance scandal continued to haunt the sector, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The regulator revealed of the 141,846 complaints made to the FOS, 77 per cent were related to banking and credit at 109,155. This also marked [...]
Bank of America analysts slap ‘buy’ rating on Barclays shares May 1, 2025 Bank of America analysts gushed over Barclays’ first-quarter performance, reiterating their ‘buy’ rating on the stock. Analysts said that while geopolitical-related concerns ahead of results were understandable, the lender “printed a strong set of numbers”. The FTSE 100 bank booked a £2.7bn pre-tax profit, ahead of the £2.5bn pencilled in. This was boosted by income [...]
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. [...]
Little respite for carmakers despite Trump’s tariff rowback April 30, 2025 Donald Trump’s rowback on tariffs provides little respite for a global car industry already struggling to cope. Following intense lobbying from manufacturers, the mercurial US president on Tuesday introduced a set of relief measures for carmakers which enable them to pay less in import taxes for foreign parts. While the move will be welcomed by [...]
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 [...]
HSBC and Barclays shareholders eye returns as tariffs cloud banks’ reports April 28, 2025 The FTSE 100’s ‘Big Five’ banks are gearing up for first-quarter results season – and shareholders will be eyeing how lenders set the tone for the year ahead. HSBC will kick off reports on Tuesday, followed by Barclays on Wednesday and Lloyds on Thursday. Natwest and Standard Chartered will round off the results week on [...]
Tandem Bank: ‘Greener’ UK fintech bolsters profit April 24, 2025 Digital bank Tandem reported its third year of profitability in the 2024 financial year. The fintech – which brands itself as “the UK’s greener digital bank” – recorded a 40 per cent jump in underlying profit to £24.1m. This was up from £17.2m in 2023. Tandem’s assets under management topped £1.5bn at the end of [...]