How Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC fired up the FTSE 100 in 2025 December 9, 2025 If 2025 was supposed to be the year of the AI bubble, nobody told Britain’s banking giants. Amidst the noise of the US tech boom, the UK’s FTSE 100 banking heavyweights, Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays, and HSBC, have staged a formidable, if understated, rally. Lloyds delivered an astonishing 75.8 per cent gain, while Barclays surged 65 [...]
HSBC taps KPMG veteran Brendan Nelson to chair banking giant December 3, 2025 Europe’s biggest lender, HSBC, has named a new chair following its tumultuous recruitment programme after the departure of Sir Mark Tucker. HSBC tapped KPMG veteran Brendan Nelson, who has also served on the boards of BP and Royal Bank of Scotland, as its new chair. Nelson joined the banking giant’s board in 2023 and has served [...]
Natwest shares jump after cost-cutting boosts profit October 24, 2025 Natwest stock surged in early trading this morning after the lender posted a major bump in third-quarter profit following its cost-cutting regime. The FTSE 100 giant’s operating profit before tax surged over 30 per cent in the third quarter to £2.2bn, up from £1.7bn last year. Shares were up over five per cent as markets [...]
Allica Bank makes major acquisition as it eyes £1bn SME lending goal October 22, 2025 Allica Bank is set to announce a fresh acquisition as the firm looks to beef up its lending capacity for small businesses, Morning Wire can reveal. The digital bank has snapped up London-based fintech Kriya, which specialises in embedded finance and business loans. The takeover, set to be announced on Wednesday, marks Allica’s third acquisition [...]
HSBC shares sink on play to take control of Hong Kong bank October 9, 2025 HSBC shares tumbled on Thursday morning as the bank laid out plans to suspend its buyback program in order to buy out minority shareholders in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Baak. The FTSE 100 banking juggernaut has offered to pay HK$155 per share for the 36 per cent not already owned by the bank. The proposal [...]
Barclays, Citi, JP Morgan bosses sound alarm on bank tax September 25, 2025 Rachel Reeves has been handed a warning by top banking chiefs to prioritise stability for the financial services industry amid speculation of looming tax hikes. The bosses of UK banking giants have cautioned the Chancellor on potential tax rises and stressed the sector must remain competitive. Barclays’ boss CS Venkatakrishnan – known as the Venkat [...]
Banking watchdog launches deregulation push as tax fears grow September 22, 2025 Britain’s banking watchdog has laid out plans to slash regulation across the industry in a bid to sweeten the sector’s operating environment. In fresh proposals hoping to cut the red tape on the sector, the PRA identified 37 “individual reporting templates” which have “overlapping and complex requirements” in a bid to ease the administrative cost [...]
Lloyds Bank: 3,000 jobs at risk in performance overhaul September 4, 2025 Lloyds Bank is planning a major overhaul of its operations that could put five per cent of workers on the chopping block. The bank is set to review its approach to performance management with the bottom 3,000 of the firm’s 63,000 employees at risk of losing their role. The new plans, as reported by the [...]
The spectre of 2008 haunts banks’ push into private credit September 2, 2025 Britain’s biggest banks are trying to grab a slice of the rapidly expanding private credit market, but as they look to grow, memories of the financial crisis are coming back to haunt the lenders. The global private credit market notched $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion) assets under management in 2024 and is expected to grow to $2.8 trillion [...]
Budget 2025: Lloyds, Natwest and Barclays brace for a tax raid? September 1, 2025 Ahead of the 2024 Autumn Budget, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned Labour’s first fiscal event was “going to be painful”. He added those with the broadest shoulders “should bear the heavier burden” as Chancellor Rachel Reeves battled against an alleged ‘£22bn black hole’ inherited from the Conservative government. After lobbying efforts, banks were spared [...]