Banking

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

Nationwide Building Society has posted statutory pre-tax profit of £1.49 billion for the year ending 31 March 2026, continuing its expansion into a major force in UK retail banking under the leadership of chief executive officer Dame Debbie Crosbie. While this figure sits below the prior

Bank of Scotland-owner Lloyds Banking Group is considering phasing out Halifax.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Bank of England and HM Treasury have issued a joint warning that frontier artificial intelligence models now pose a materially heightened cyber threat to regulated firms, and have set out clear expectations on how the sector should respond. In a joint statement

Revolut is preparing to significantly expand its investment services in the UK after securing a fresh set of permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority.

An inquiry has been launched into the impact of banks closing more than 6,700 branches in the past decade and whether they should be compelled to introduce more face‑to‑face services. Richard Lloyd, a former executive director at the consumer group Which?, will gather evidence for the Access to

Santander UK has completed its £2.65 billion all-cash acquisition of TSB Banking Group, finalising a deal that ranks as the single largest investment in the UK banking sector for over 15 years. Completion took place on 30 April 2026, following regulatory approval from the Prudential Regulation

HSBC has reported a small drop in first-quarter profit after a sharp rise in credit charges, driven by a fraud-related exposure in its UK investment banking arm and the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East, overshadowed solid revenue growth across the lender's wealth and interest income busi

Royal Bank of Scotland-owner NatWest Group has seen its operating profit before tax rise 12% to £2 billion, up from £1.8bn in the same period last year, for the first quarter of 2026. The growth was supported by a total income of £4.2bn (excluding notable items), representing a nea

Santander UK's pre-tax profits declined 44% to £202 million in its first-quarter results for 2026.

In a significant shift from its digital-only roots, the fintech giant Revolut has confirmed plans to open its first permanent physical store in Barcelona.