Borrowing costs set to ease further as Bank contends with weaker jobs market August 3, 2025 Borrowing costs are set to ease further as the Bank of England contends with stagnant growth and rising unemployment, experts have predicted. Most economists think the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to 4% on Thursday. It could release pressure for some mortgage holders amid hopes that cheaper [...]
Bank of England officials set to clash on interest rates July 30, 2025 Bank of England policymakers are set to spar on whether to hold or cut interest rates as City analysts are expecting a three-way split in the final vote. The Bank saw a 6-3 vote in favour of holding interest rates at 4.25 per cent in June while the meeting before in May saw four dissenting [...]
Paragon maintains pace as stamp duty changes slow mortgage lending July 29, 2025 Paragon has weathered a shakeup in stamp duty as analysts hailed the FTSE 250 bank’s “excellent momentum” in the first nine months of the financial year. The London-listed business recorded £1.1bn mortgage lending for the first three quarters, but estimated full-year volumes at the lower end of targets at £1.6bn. The firm said subdued activity [...]
Mortgages rebound in lift for housing market July 29, 2025 Britons’ borrowing of mortgages and consumer credit rose at a faster pace in June, fresh Bank of England data has revealed, in signs that the recovery in the housing market is “well underway”. In monthly statistics released by the Bank to signal trends in the UK banking system, it was revealed that net borrowing of [...]
Rachel Reeves at odds with Bank of England over Revolut licence bid July 29, 2025 Rachel Reeves has clashed with the governor of the Bank of England after trying to support Revolut in its protracted regulatory process to secure a full banking licence. The Chancellor is reported to have attempted to secure a meeting between financial watchdogs and Revolut in hopes of pushing forward its banking licence bid. But the [...]
Supreme Court judgment hardly draws a line under Libor July 24, 2025 It would be convenient to think that yesterday’s Supreme Court judgment draws a line under the years-long Libor saga. The reality is far from it. The court decided to quash the conviction of former trader Tom Hayes of offences of conspiracy to defraud. But it did so not because there was no evidence of those [...]
Natwest boosts AI strategy with AWS and Accenture July 23, 2025 Natwest Group has announced a five-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and consultancy Accenture to accelerate its bank-wide data and AI transformation, ahead of its half-year earnings release scheduled for July 25. The agreement forms part of the group’s broader strategy to simplify its operations and offer a more personalised customer experience. By consolidating data currently housed [...]
Deregulation drive risks repeat of financial crisis, Bank of England governor says July 22, 2025 The governor of the Bank of England has distanced himself from Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ deregulation agenda, suggesting the move could cause a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. Andrew Bailey told MPs on the Treasury Committee that the UK “cannot compromise” on financial stability after the government laid out plans to remove regulatory red tape [...]
Natwest and Lloyds: What to expect from FTSE 100 bank earnings next week July 21, 2025 The FTSE 100’s banking titans, Natwest, Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC are gearing up for what promises to be an interesting half-year reporting season. Lloyds and Natwest will kick off earnings on July 24 and July 25 followed by peers Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered the following week. The first quarter was defined by President Donald Trump’s [...]
Ofwat to be replaced with ‘new regulator’ amid Thames Water crisis July 18, 2025 Ofwat, the water watchdog, is expected to be abolished and replaced by a new body next week after facing intense scrutiny over sewage firms and the poor performance of major companies including Thames Water, according to reports. A consultation on the creation of a new regulator is expected to be announced next week after results [...]