FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up; Fuel shortage fears hit airlines; Unilever nears food deal March 31, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices are on track for its biggest monthly gain on record for March following the outbreak of war in Iran. It comes as the war in Iran continues to cause ripples through the market, with Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices [...]
FCA slashes banks’ motor finance payouts as compensation scheme finalised March 30, 2026 City banks are set to face a more than £9bn motor finance bill after the UK’s financial watchdog laid out plans for its long-awaited motor finance redress scheme in a major U-turn after months of backlash. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed the details of its industry-wide redress scheme for the car mis-selling saga on [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Dollar dips amid Trump oil threats; motor finance decision expected March 30, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. In a fresh escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, Donald Trump has said that he wants to “take the oil in Iran”, with the US dollar taking a hit this morning. In an interview with the Financial Times, the US President said that [...]
Revolut and Nationwide sharpen swords in battle to bank Britain March 25, 2026 The claws are out in the battle to bank Britain and in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at the latest shots fired from Revolut and Nationwide. If you had ‘Graham Norton sitting on a horse’ on your banking bingo card, congratulations. The BBC chat show host has swapped his famous sofa with [...]
HSBC job cut plans add to mounting AI warnings for banks March 19, 2026 HSBC is weighing up cutting as many as 20,000 jobs across its global business as part of a longer-term push towards automation and AI, forming the clearest signal yet of how the technology is beginning to reshape the banking workforce. According to reports, the lender is understood to be considering reductions equivalent to around 10 [...]
Zopa Bank’s profit booms despite ‘penalised’ motor finance hit March 19, 2026 Zopa Bank cruised to its third consecutive year of profitability in 2025 but has offered a stark warning it feels “penalised” by the UK’s financial watchdog after getting swept up in the motor finance scandal. The Canary Wharf fintech has set aside £7.9m in provisions for the car mis-selling saga, which centres around the use [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Diploma leads stocks as pound ticks up; Oil dips March 18, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.8 per cent higher on Tuesday at 10,403.60p. The gains were accompanied by a stronger performance from the pound, which finished up $1.334 by the time London markets closed, compared to $1.329 on Monday. Sterling and the City were [...]
Is the motor finance scandal making City banks trim the fat? March 18, 2026 The motor finance scandal is reshaping the banking sector, in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at how lenders are responding. In the fallout of the multi-billion pound motor finance scandal, bank bosses are getting their house in order. The landmark saga, which began with the UK’s financial watchdog’s review into the market [...]
Close Brothers to axe fifth of jobs after motor finance ‘wipeout’ warning March 17, 2026 Close Brothers has warned it will cull as much as a fifth of its headcount as the bank continued its aggressive cost-cutting strategy following mounting losses linked to the motor finance scandal. The FTSE 250 bank said it would axe a staggering 600 full-time roles by the end of the 2027 financial, which represents around [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up; Gas prices surge after drone attacks March 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5 per cent yesterday, settling at 10,317.69p led by a three per cent jump in Endeavour Mining. It came as global markets were brought some reprieve from declining oil prices. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil [...]