Reeves warned against bank tax raid May 21, 2025 Rachel Reeves has been warned of the growth consequences of upping tax on lenders after a leaked memo from Angela Rayner called for the Chancellor to launch a cash grab on banks. Reeves was sent a memo by the Deputy Prime Minister ahead of the spring Statement, which called for an annual £700m hike on [...]
Close Brothers shares drop as costs rise from motor finance threat May 21, 2025 Close Brothers said fees and expenses were still at an “elevated level” in a third-quarter update on Wednesday as motor finance troubles continued. The group’s net expenses hit £13.9m for the period, compared to £11.6m for the third-quarter in 2024. The lender said it continued to experience heightened “professional fees and expenses” following the Financial [...]
MPs grill Barclays on outages as HSBC raises cyber attack concerns May 20, 2025 Bank chiefs have said they are ramping up spend on cyber defences after a spate of attacks have blighted the retail sector. HSBC’s UK boss Ian Stuart told the Treasury Committee the bank’s work on cyber protection and IT infrastructure was the “biggest expense in the business”. “Cyber security is at the top of the [...]
Lloyds Bank boss: No evidence of harm in motor finance scandal May 20, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s chief executive faced a grilling from the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday over the lender’s historical exposure to the motor finance market. Charlie Nunn, the bank’s boss, said there was “no evidence of harm” from the firm’s operations in the car financing market. The scandal in the sector headed to the Supreme [...]
Is HSBC turning its back on Europe? May 20, 2025 When Georges Elhedery took the helm at HSBC, he wasted no time making his mark on the firm. Elhedery plotted a “simpler, more dynamic and agile organisation” in his sweeping restructure first announced in October 2024. One significant change introduced by the new bank chief was splitting the business into “eastern markets” covering the Asia-pacific [...]
One in four Brits cling to bank branches as closures soar May 20, 2025 Brits remain keen for in-person banking even as high-street sites shutter, a fresh report from the Financial Conduct Authority has revealed. One in four current account users still opted to use branch services in the year to May 2024 despite their waning availability. The figure marks a steep drop from 63 per cent in 2017, [...]
Natwest and Lloyds to cash in as Reeves hints at ring-fencing reform May 19, 2025 Rachel Reeves has told top bank bosses she is “open-minded” to ditch the ring-fencing regime imposed on major banks. The Chancellor was lobbied by the chiefs of HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest and Santander to scrap the 15-year-old legislation last month. Lenders slammed the system – which requires firms to keep their retail bank operations separate from [...]
Natwest and Lloyds to rake in millions from a ring-fencing shakeup May 16, 2025 Natwest and Lloyds are set for a major cash bump if Chancellor Rachel Reeves rips up the ring-fencing regime imposed on lenders, fresh data shows. FTSE 100 banking giants have lobbied the Chancellor to axe the system, which they described as a “drag on banks”. The bosses of HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest and Santander slammed the [...]
Natwest: Government set to sell stake in FTSE 100 giant by June May 16, 2025 The UK government is on track to sell its remaining stake in FTSE 100 lender Natwest as soon as next month after it accelerated the sell-down of its holdings. The Treasury’s share of the FTSE 100 lender is one of British banking’s longest-running sagas, dating back to the 2008 financial crisis. Natwest, then under the [...]
One in ten Brits have no cash savings, City regulator says May 16, 2025 One in ten Brits do not have any cash savings, the City regulator has warned, concerning signs that hundreds of thousands of people could be unable to cover emergency bills. New research by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has also suggested that a fifth of people have less than £1,000 available to draw on The [...]