Banking

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.

Lloyds Banking Group has posted a 33% rise in statutory profit before tax to £2.0 billion, for the first quarter of 2026, but has shared concerns over the economic impact of the Middle East conflict. The Bank of Scotland-owner's Q1 growth was underpinned by an 8% rise in underlying net interes

Royal Bank of Scotland-owner NatWest Group's annual general meeting in Edinburgh was thrown into disarray after protesters disrupted proceedings for approximately half an hour, forcing the bank to temporarily halt its shareholder meeting. As chairman Rick Haythornthwaite was delivering his opening s

A Nationwide customer could join the building society's board for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, after a longstanding member secured enough support to appear on the lender's annual ballot. James Sherwin-Smith, a 45-year-old from West Sussex, will stand for election at Nationwide's

Barclays shares fell more than 3% in early trading on Tuesday despite the banking group posting a solid set of first-quarter results, as a record-breaking performance from its investment bank was partly overshadowed by a £228 million hit from the collapse of mortgage lender Market Financial So

Edinburgh-headquartered Hampden Bank has broken through the £1 billion deposits milestone, with client deposits rising 13% to £1.12bn in the financial year to 31 December 2025. Loans and advances also grew, climbing more than 9% to £640 million, whilst total income increased to &po

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed the second group of firms selected to participate in its AI Live Testing initiative, with eight companies, including Barclays, Experian, Lloyds Banking Group (Scottish Widows), and UBS, chosen to trial AI applications in real-world conditions.

JP Morgan has strengthened its UK retail banking operation by poaching Kunal Malani from Monzo, where he has served as chief banking officer since 2020. Mr Malani, a seasoned retail banker whose career includes stints at Barclays and HSBC, will now lead Chase UK, the Wall Street giant's digital bank

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is convening a summit with the heads of UK banks this Wednesday to address the economic fallout from the war in Iran. The Chancellor has invited executives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander UK and Nationwide to the meeting, which will include figures such as Na

Anthropic is set to release its Mythos cybersecurity product to UK financial institutions within the coming week, following a period of intense regulatory engagement on both sides of the Atlantic.

Financial regulators and top UK banks are holding urgent talks over cybersecurity risks posed by Claude Mythos Preview, a new AI model from Anthropic capable of detecting vulnerabilities in critical systems that have gone undetected for decades. Officials from the Bank of England, the Financial Cond