Natwest, HSBC, Lloyds face rules change in regulatory shake-up April 27, 2026 A number of Britain’s top lenders will on Tuesday face a rules overhaul relating to regulations around de-banking customers. HSBC, Natwest and Lloyds are among the lenders that will have to comply with the new changes that are expected to afford customers improved protections when accounts are closed. New rules – which will come into [...]
FTSE 100 banks £16bn payday to face economic reality check April 27, 2026 Provisions for sour loans threaten to take a bite out of profit growth as Barclays kicks off FTSE 100 banks earnings season next week whilst economic tensions loom over the wider financial industry. UK banks will give a snapshot of the gathering tensions in the economy next week as the nation’s top lenders update the [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks dip as oil prices surge to three-week high April 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. There’s set to be little relief in markets this morning as investors return from the weekend to oil hitting a three-week high. The price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – rose two per cent to over $107 on Monday morning. [...]
Motor finance trade body gears up for legal challenge to £9bn redress April 24, 2026 The motor finance industry’s trade body is mulling lodging a legal battle against the UK financial watchdog‘s £9bn redress scheme. The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), which counts Santander and the financial arms of BMW and Volkswagen among its members, is reported to be leaning towards challenging the City regulator’s scheme. Members of the body [...]
Motor finance and wealth progress in spotlight for Lloyds earnings April 24, 2026 Investors will be looking for old wounds to be heal and crucial updates on expansion progress when Lloyds Banking Group gives its first-quarter update next week. The FTSE 100 banking titan – which is frequently cited as the UK’s most-traded stock – will give markets an insight into how it started the new year on [...]
Santander hits pause on €5bn buyback after US takeover April 23, 2026 Santander has been forced to hit the pause button on its bumper buyback programme announced earlier this year to comply with US regulation. The Spanish-headquartered bank told markets on Thursday it would temporarily suspend the €5bn (£4.3bn) buyback launched in February to comply with US regulation around its takeover of Webster. The lender struck a [...]
Barclays sweetens mortgage deals as interest rate decision takes focus April 22, 2026 Barclays has become the latest bank to wade into the flurry of mortgage rate cuts as lenders turn their attention to next week’s interest rates decision. The FTSE 100 giant cut rates across more than 20 mortgage products from Wednesday morning. It follows on from a slew of reductions from the likes of HSBC UK, [...]
Inside the fintech industry’s pensions gambit April 22, 2026 The fintech industry are on the offensive and in this week’s column Samuel Norman gives an insight into the sector’s lobbying calls for pension fund allocation. London has found itself brought to a halt this week. One may have thought the Tube strikes would bring Square Mile to a standstill, too. But the lack of [...]
Barclays and Lloyds picked for City watchdog’s AI live testing April 21, 2026 Barclays has joined the second cohort of firms selected by the UK’s financial watchdog to get a safe run at testing AI as banking giants battle to bulk up their tech capacity. The FTSE 100 constituent will join its peer Lloyds Banking Group – which will be represented by its subsidiary Scottish Widows – as [...]
‘It doesn’t work anymore’: Wealthy Brits snub UK property market in search of better returns April 21, 2026 Affluent Brits are pulling out of the UK property market at pace, the boss of a major London bank has said, as high taxes, burdensome regulation and stagnant house prices prompt investors to look elsewhere for greater returns. Ian Rand, chief executive of Monument Bank, which caters for mass affluent account holders with six figures [...]