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Starling plans to ‘come out swinging’ in diversification bid

Fintech

Bernadette Smith has a spring in her step as she sits down in Starling’s headquarters to discuss her new role. The fintech’s new banking boss is buzzing with energy that she wants to pass onto customers and investors. “I want everyone to be talking about us,” she says, envisaging how she will measure success in [...]
Revolut founder’s wealth set to balloon amid talks of share award at $500bn valuation

Fintech

The billionaire founder of Revolut is set to see his wealth balloon following reports of a pay package that would land him a major stock windfall if the fintech reaches a $500bn valuation. The digital bank, which is currently undergoing a secondary share sale seeking to value the firm at $115bn, is in discussions to [...]
As it happened: Stocks rise as oil fluctuates after Red Sea attack; US-Iran deal ‘being circulated’

FTSE 100 Live

Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Oil prices have snapped a losing streak following Yemen’s Houthis said they had attacked a Saudi vessel in the Red Sea. Brent crude drew back above the $80 per barrel mark on Wednesday morning on the news, but prices were still down for the week by around 10 [...]

Market BriefingAs of 23:20 BST

European markets at a glance

FTSE 10010,867.89-0.19%

DAX26,140.13+0.05%

CAC 408,699.71+0.35%

STOXX 506,502.56+0.39%

Full market coverage →

Big bank bosses on alert as tax noise gets louder under Burnham

August 5, 2026

Banks have delivered booming profits for the first half of the year. In this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at how the calls for a tax rise on the sector will get louder under the new Prime Minister. “The saxophones are getting louder” is the internet’s new saying to depict growing anxiety. If you [...]
Monitoring the situation: HSBC to add 46 CCTV cameras with ‘face detection’ outside new City HQ

August 4, 2026

Few banks are better at monitoring the situation than HSBC. The UK’s biggest bank is gearing up to install dozens of CCTV cameras around the perimeter of its new City headquarters as it ramps up security ahead of its move from Canary Wharf next year. HSBC plans to fit as many as 51 new cameras, [...]
Barclays in legal battle with MFS administrators over part of £160m holding

August 4, 2026

The administrators of collapsed mortgage lender MFS are taking legal action against Barclays after the bank allegedly refused to hand back millions of pounds sat in its accounts. Alix Partners, which was appointed as joint administrators for Market Financial Solutions in February, filed a High Court claim against Barclays, represented by Latham and Watkins, on [...]
Metro Bank profit jumps as it bucks branch closure trend

August 4, 2026

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 [...]
HSBC kicks off $1bn share buyback after profit smashes forecast

August 4, 2026

HSBC has resumed its share buyback programme after profit soared past expectations in the second quarter of 2026. The FTSE 100 bank – whose market cap of £274bn makes it the London Stock Exchange’s most valuable company – posted $10.1bn (£7.5bn) in pre-tax profit for the last three months, surging past an internal forecast of [...]
As it happened: Oil prices tumble as Bessent says US-Iran deal imminent; miner stocks rally

August 4, 2026

Welcome back to the Morning Wire 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 [...]
Chrysalis marks down Starling stake again and reduces Klarna holding

August 3, 2026

Chrysalis Investments has slashed the price tag of its Starling stake for the second straight quarter. The British investment trust marked down the value of its holding in the digital bank by five per cent to £356m in the second quarter. This helped contribute to an overall drop of 2.35p per share in Chrysalis’ net [...]