Santander UK profit slides after motor finance reserves balloon April 29, 2026 Santander UK’s profit took a knock in the first quarter of the year after the bank made another hefty top up to its motor finance provisions. The UK arm of the Spanish banking giant booked a £202m pre-tax profit for the first three months of 2026. This was down 44 per cent from the same [...]
AI could trigger a PPI level scandal in ‘two weeks’ April 29, 2026 A multi-billion pound scandal like PPI could happen within just “two weeks” as UK finance firms plough ahead with deploying AI despite uncertainty around governance standards, a fresh report has claimed. The UK’s financial services sector faces a “capability gap” when deploying AI, according to a report from regulatory compliance firm Zango. The research pulled [...]
Lloyds hit with highest FCA complaints as finance firms fork out £240m April 28, 2026 Lloyds Banking Group led the pack as the most complained about financial services group in the second half of 2025 as the industry forked out a near-quarter of a billion pounds to dissatisfied customers. Across its subsidiaries, the FTSE 100 giant was hit with a storm of 187,516 grievances to the UK’s financial watchdog in [...]
Macquarie ups stake in Argentex founder’s fintech as it clinches licence April 28, 2026 Macquarie has built up its stake in a London-based foreign exchange fintech after the firm clinched a new permit from the City watchdog. The financial services giant has increased its holdings in Tenora to 33 per cent. It follows the fintech bagging Macquaire’s investment last summer in fundraise that valued the start-up at £15m. The [...]
Motor finance lenders warned of ‘gridlock’ as £9bn scandal clogs rearview April 27, 2026 The UK’s top banks are gearing up to put the long-running motor finance scandal in the rearview mirror but warning lights on the dashboard suggest they may still face “gridlock” on the multi-billion pound saga. FTSE 250 lender Vanquis became the latest on Monday to confirm it would not lodge a legal challenge against the [...]
Bank of London: Peter Mandelson-backed fintech sees losses widen April 27, 2026 The Bank of London’s parent company had made another steep loss in fresh accounts that were delayed for the second consecutive year. The embattled clearing bank’s parent company, Oplyse Holdings, made a loss of £46.9m in 2024, bringing the firm’s cumulative deficit to £167.7m. Fresh accounts for Oplyse Holdings – which was formerly known as [...]
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 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 [...]
S&U takes ‘Margaret Thatcher’ approach as profit swells April 21, 2026 Specialist lender S&U recorded a major bump to profit in the last year as the bank said it was following the teachings of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The London-listed bank – which was founded in 1938 and once known as Sports and Utilities – posted a pre-tax profit of £31.8m in the year ending 5 [...]
Santander UK tipped for ‘large’ hike to motor finance provisions April 16, 2026 Santander UK is expected to top up its provisions for the motor finance scandal following the final outline of the financial watchdog’s redress scheme. The Spanish-headquartered banking giant has been one of the most vocal critics throughout the scandal, which relates to the use of discretionary commission arrangements (DCAS) in car financing. Banks were accused [...]