Aldermore’s sale interest shows banks are over motor finance Banking Lloyds, Nationwide and Investec are all tipped to be circling Aldemore as its South African over prepares a sale. Samuel Norman takes a look at the runners and riders and what it could do for the market. Has the banking industry finally moved on from motor finance? The number of suiters circling Aldermore suggest as [...]
Natwest chair: Boost investment in UK or risk ‘inter-generational crisis’ Economics The chair of Natwest has warned the UK is in a “moment of national crisis” that can only be fixed by firing up investment in the country’s flagging economy. Rick Haythornthwaite, the City grandee who has also chaired the boards of Mastercard and Ocado, told City AM that years of political instability and poor decision-making [...]
Top UK banks to raise £50m to build payments network Banking Britain’s biggest banks are set to kick off a fundraising campaign that will pave the way for a domestic payments alternative to Mastercard and Visa. The UK Payments Delivery Company (PDC) is launching an equity capital raise as part of a new model from the Bank of England, aligning with the Treasury’s National Payments Vision, [...]
Value of UK deals rockets as buyers pounce on FTSE 100 firms September 9, 2026 The value of UK merger and acquisitions more than doubled in the first half of 2026 as foreign buyers capitalised on sluggish valuations to pick off some of Britain’s most valuable companies. Takeovers worth some £124bn were struck in the first six months of the year, up 107 per cent year-on-year from £60bn in the [...]
Banks ombudsman on the hook for millions in legal fees to Barclays and Santander September 7, 2026 The UK’s banks ombudsman could be forced to pay millions to a group of the UK’s top lenders after the High Court quashed four decisions the body made earlier this year on overdrafts and credit cards. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has been put on the hook for what could top £2m in legal fees after the court [...]
Lloyds and Natwest flaunt social credentials as fears grow of Burnham tax grab August 26, 2026 Lloyds and Natwest are flaunting their community credentials and pledging a raft of new social investment initiatives as fears grow that Prime Minister Andy Burnham will launch a punishing tax raid on the sector with the government’s first Budget. The two lenders are among a group of top UK banks looking to prove they can [...]
Natwest wins approval to beef up US presence August 25, 2026 Natwest has landed approval from the US Federal Reserve to beef up its presence on the other side of the Atlantic. The British banking giant has been granted permission to set up a “representative office” in Connecticut that will “act as a liaison with current and prospective US customers of the bank”. The approval document [...]
Exclusive: City giants tighten trans policies August 14, 2026 City firms are being forced to tighten up inclusion policies and prevent transgender staff from using single-sex bathrooms, after the equalities watchdog published fresh directions on enforcing the seismic Supreme Court ruling on gender last year. Square Mile giants including Admiral, Coventry Building Society and Santander have all updated their HR procedures to bar trans [...]
Revealed: Natwest banked company used by MFS founder to ‘siphon off’ funds August 12, 2026 Natwest provided banking services to a company allegedly used by the founder of collapsed property lender MFS to divert investors’ cash and “siphon off” funds, City AM can reveal. The bank held the day-to-day account for Twinwin, a company that was allegedly used by Market Financial Solutions founder Paresh Raja to generate fees from clients’ [...]
Cavendish taps top adviser to fend off foreign takeover interest August 10, 2026 Cavendish has drafted in advisers from a top corporate consultancy to help it fend off low-ball takeover bids amid a wave of consolidation in Britain’s financial services sector. Top brass at the boutique investment bank enlisted the help of specialists at Teneo last year, City AM can reveal, who conducted a valuation exercise to “support [...]