Banking

Former NatWest chairman and financial regulator Sir Howard Davies has launched a scathing attack on the UK's banking framework, claiming that post financial crisis ring-fencing was a "completely useless regulatory intervention" that has "emasculated UK investment banking." Speaking as ministers weig

SSE has "expanded its global financing strategy" by entering the Australian bond market for the first time, selling (£520m) of Green "Kangaroo" Bonds. Australian-dollar Kangaroo Bonds are issued in Australian markets by overseas firms and today’s was in two tranches: A$600m 5-year green

Major banks, insurance companies and building societies have tightened up their inclusion policies to require staff and visitors to use single-sex spaces matching their biological sex, rather than  their gender identity, in order to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. Admiral, Coventry Buildi

  Politicians have written to the chief executives at every major bank in the UK, demanding explanations regarding their restrictive policies toward cryptocurrency and digital asset firms.

The Royal Bank of Scotland and Harper Macleod have teamed up to offer expert legal advice to thousands of Scottish start-ups. Delivered through the Royal Bank Accelerator programme, the agreement will see a dedicated solicitor assigned to the Glasgow and Edinburgh Accelerator hubs.  The legal e

Hampden Bank chief executive Tracey Davidson's bet on riding out two years of falling profit is starting to pay off, with the private bank reporting a 91% jump in first-half earnings. Profit before tax for the six months to 30 June 2026 came in at £4.7 million in its unaudited accounts against

The European Central Bank moved to restrict the operations of Revolut's European arm last year, citing concerns over how rapidly the fintech approved new financial products.

Lloyds Banking Group is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across fraud prevention, combining agentic AI with real-time scam detection to protect its 28 million customers. The Bank of Scotland-owner's AI fraud agent was developed by fraud, technology, data and risk specialists using Envoy,

Dame Debbie Crosbie, chief executive of Nationwide, has seen her pay almost double following the building society's £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money. Ms Crosbie, who has led the mutual since 2022, received a total package of £4.67m for the financial year to 31 March, up from £

Bunq, Europe's second-largest digital bank, is preparing to apply for a full UK banking licence, as the Dutch fintech seeks to expand its presence in the UK and compete with sector leader Revolut. The $2 billion (c. £1.5bn) firm, which reached 20 million users within a decade, is understood to

Russia has passed legislation allowing its central bank and a number of major financial and state institutions to operate their own anti-drone defence systems as Ukrainian long-range strikes continue to test Moscow’s air defences. The law, approved by the State Duma, authorises employees at Ru

The UK government has commissioned an independent review to examine the real-world impact of bank branch closures and determine whether legislative intervention is required to protect access to physical services. Led by Richard Lloyd OBE, the former Which? director and Financial Conduct Authority (F

Edinburgh hosted the Official Institutions Conference last week, marking the first time in 11 years that the prestigious event has been held in the Scottish capital. Convened by Royal Bank of Scotland-owner NatWest Group, the event brought together a range of global investors and national banks from

Nationwide is set to become Scotland's largest branch network from 4 June, contrasting sharply with the widespread retreat of other high street banks. While rival institutions prepare to close over 80 UK branches in June alone, and upwards of 240 by the end of the year, the building society will boa

Standard Chartered is set to axe approximately 7,800 jobs by 2030 as part of an aggressive shift towards artificial intelligence and automation. The London-headquartered banking giant, which employs around 82,000 staff globally, has revealed it intends to slash more than 15% of its back-office roles