Goldman Sachs beats trading haul record by $1bn after Iran volatility April 13, 2026 Goldman Sachs equities traders have beaten their all-time quarterly high as the Wall Street titan revealed a major market haul amidst the volatility triggered by the Middle East. The banking giant’s stock division reaped $5.3bn (£3.9bn) in revenue for the first quarter of the year, surpassing the previous record of $4.3bn secured by the bank [...]
Revolut follows Starling with AI agent as tech arms race heats up April 9, 2026 Revolut has waded into the AI arms race with the debut of its personal finance assistant as fintech firms race to beef up the tech in their all-in-one super apps. The $75bn digital banking giant has launched AI by Revolut – a financial assistant embedded into its app. The chatbot provides spending insights, investment updates [...]
‘Make the process look less scary’: UK banking licence applications hit zero in 2025 April 8, 2026 The number of applicants for UK banking licences plummeted to zero in 2025, raising questions over the government and regulators’ capacity to foster competition and attract overseas investment. The fresh figures – revealed in a Freedom of Information request by financial regulation consultancy Pathlight Associates – show a steep fall from the 11 licence bids [...]
For FSCS sake: Meet the body that protects Britain’s savers in a financial crisis March 30, 2026 As echoes of 2008 percolate through the banking system, the body that serves to protect Britain in a financial crisis says it’s ready to weather any storm. A combination of fears around private credit, the “stretched” value of artificial intelligence firms and more recently, concerns around a global energy shock, have made top bankers sound [...]
Arbuthnot chief: High street banks’ push into wealth is no threat March 30, 2026 One of London’s oldest private banking institutions has sounded off on the influx of the British banking giants looking to grab a slice of the wealth management pie. Andrew Salmon, the boss of Arbuthnot Latham, told Morning Wire that when big bank rivals attempt to go “stratospheric” with their thresholds, it would benefit from its [...]
Bank to business lending growth to halve amid global tensions February 23, 2026 UK bank to businesses lending growth is forecast to halve this year as firms feel the pinch of challenging conditions amid global tensions. Net growth in the value of lending from the banking sector to businesses is tipped to slow to 3.5 per cent this year, standing at nearly half of the 6.9 per cent [...]
Pay for Natwest’s top boss balloons to £6.6m as bonuses soar February 13, 2026 The boss of Natwest has defended a bumper rise to his pay packet in the last financial year as the bank dished out the cash on employee bonuses. The group’s chief Paul Thwaite pocketed a £6.6m package, an increase of 33 per cent from £4.9m in 2024. “I recognize that senior roles in financial services [...]
UK fintech Zempler Bank snapped up for less than half previous valuation February 12, 2026 London-based fintech Zempler Bank has been snapped up by Nigeria’s biggest bank in a deal that has slashed the firm’s valuation, Morning Wire can reveal. The small business lender – formerly known as Cashplus – has been acquired by The Access Bank UK with a price tag of around £3.45p per share. The sale represents [...]
Barclays boss calls for political ‘stability’ as banker’s pay packet swells to £15m February 10, 2026 The boss of British banking giant Barclays has called for “stability” across the political landscape as the Labour government’s future faces uncertainty. CS Venkatakrishnan, the bank’s chief executive who is known as Venkat, faced questions on the turmoil in Number 10 after Barclays published its full-year earnings report. “From the point of view of businesses [...]
Barclays kicks off £15bn shareholder bonanza after profit rises February 10, 2026 Barclays kickstarted plans to dish out heaps of cash to shareholders on Tuesday after the bank’s profit breezed ahead of expectations for the 2025 financial year. The FTSE 100 giant launched a fresh £1bn share buyback after pre-tax profit soared 13 per cent in the last 12 months to £9.1bn. This came ahead of internal [...]