Mark Kleinman: Healey unlikely to resist clamour for bank windfall tax Business Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his City AM column. The sense of déjà vu among Britain’s bank chiefs is palpable. Eight weeks ahead of new Chancellor John Healey’s inaugural fiscal statement and the industry is engaged in another frantic round of lobbying against tax rises. This [...]
Metro Bank profit jumps as it bucks branch closure trend Banking Metro Bank secured its highest half-year profit on record in the first six months of 2026 as it bucked an industry-wide trend of branch closures and grew its small business offering. The FTSE 250 bank recorded a £60.7m pre-tax profit, up 41 per cent from the same period last year. This was driven by a [...]
As it happened: Oil prices tumble as Bessent says US-Iran deal imminent; miner stocks rally Markets Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. The price of oil tumbled on Tuesday afternoon after a senior Trump ally said that a deal over control of the Strait of Hormuz could be agreed with Iran in the coming days. The price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – tumbled [...]
Zopa first UK bank to be green lit to roll out targeted support May 19, 2026 Zopa Bank has received regulatory approval to roll out targeted support for its investment customers, marking it as the first UK bank to get the green light. The bank joins a range of financial firms, including Royal London, Quilter and Vanguard, which has secured targeted support permissions since the scheme went live on 6 April. [...]
Good news at last? Financial services sector rebounds at fastest rate this century April 7, 2026 Britain’s financial services sector rebounded in the first three months of this year powered by the fastest single-quarter recovery since 1996, a closely watched survey found. According to the CBI’s industry-wide survey, sentiment among financial firms improved for the first time in nearly two years, as an uptick in profitability was aided by the uncertainty [...]
Metro Bank shares dip after SME lending pivot sees profit balloon March 4, 2026 Metro Bank has swung back into profit as the firm’s pivot into small business lending led to a bump in revenue. The FTSE 250 lender returned to profitability with a pre-tax profit of just north of £98m – a 15-year high and major clawback from losses of £14m last year. The swing came as Metro [...]
Metro Bank handed capital boost from banking watchdog December 19, 2025 High street lender Metro Bank is set for a major capital boost after a reclassification from the banking watchdog. The FTSE 250 firm said on Friday it has received confirmation from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) that it would be listed as a transfer firm under the newly introduced MREL regime from 2026. Introduced in [...]
Metro Bank trebles profit amid pivot to specialist lending August 6, 2025 Metro Bank more than trebled its profit in the first six months of the year as its transformation strategy gained pace. The high street lender recorded an underlying profit before tax of £45m, compared with £12.8m in the second half of 2024. Revenue grew 22 per cent to £286m whilst operating costs fell eight per [...]
Motor finance ruling hands City banks £7bn stock boost August 4, 2025 The FTSE 100’s banking giants added billions to their market value on Monday after a hefty boost from the Supreme Court’s motor finance ruling. Lloyds Banking Group bolstered its market capitalisation by over £3.5bn after a seven per cent surge to a five-year high on the back of the top Court’s ruling last Friday. The [...]
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 [...]