Santander to spin off motor finance division from UK business April 22, 2025 Santander is poised to spin off its litigation-hit motor finance division as part of a major overhaul of its UK operations. The Spanish lender has sought permission from regulators to separate its car loan business, which is facing a near-£300m payout as part of the ongoing motor finance scandal, from the rest of its British [...]
Third of 18 to 21-year-olds ‘worry about money every day,’ says Santander April 19, 2025 More than a third (35 per cent) of Gen-Z adults aged 18 to 21 worry about their finances every day, according to research for a major bank. But only a fifth (20 per cent) of young adults said they would be interested in learning about debt management, the survey for Santander UK found. Just over [...]
HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds: Lenders bank on interest rate cut as mortgage ‘price war’ heats up April 17, 2025 Top UK lenders are offering more mortgages to prospective house buyers, the Bank of England has revealed, as falling interest rates stir up a “price war” on the high street. The Bank’s credit conditions survey revealed that the burgeoning supply of mortgages would come against a levelling off in demand in the three months to [...]
Santander: Ex-Treasury chief civil servant could be new bank chairman April 5, 2025 Former Treasury permanent secretary Sir Tom Scholar who was sacked by Liz Truss could become the new chairman of Santander UK, according to a report. Sir Tom, who helped devise the Covid-19 furlough job protection scheme, is the preferred candidate for chairmanship of Britain’s fifth-biggest high street bank, Sky News is reporting. He could be [...]
Motor finance: Lloyds, Close Brothers and Santander brace for ‘shockwaves’ March 31, 2025 Judgement day nears for some of the UK’s biggest lenders as the motor finance scandal heads to the country’s highest court this week. The Supreme Court will decide whether to uphold the Court of Appeal’s October ruling that it was unlawful for banks to pay a commission to a car dealer without the customer’s informed [...]
Santander becomes first major lender to loosen mortgage rules March 28, 2025 Santander has become the first major UK lender to relax its mortgage rules following a nudge from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Homebuyers could be able to borrow an extra £35,000 on a mortgage under the changed rules. The UK’s fourth-largest mortgage lender will reduce rates on borrower’s stress tests, which are used to check [...]
Santander to shut 95 branches – putting 750 jobs at risk March 19, 2025 Santander announced a flurry of branch closures on Wednesday, which will place up to 750 employees at risk of redundancy. The bank, which is one of the UK’s most prominent mortgage lenders, will close 95 of its 444 branches as part of a structural overhaul that will begin in June 2025. Its updated branches network [...]
Barclays puts aside £90m for motor finance scandal February 13, 2025 Barclays announced in its annual results it had set aside £90m to cover potential motor finance payouts, amidst ongoing disputes over the misconduct row. This follows the landmark Court of Appeal’s October 2024 judgment, ruling in favour of three consumers and determining that lenders were liable for paying undisclosed commission to car dealers who acted [...]
Lloyds partners with ‘Duolingo of money’ to target Gen Z February 10, 2025 Lloyds Bank has partnered with fintech platform Doshi to improve young people’s financial literacy through “gamified learning”. The Big Four bank is launching a six month pilot, targeting 18 to 24 year-olds to make financial education “fun and accessible”. Doshi’s founder Daniel Rose told City AM high street banks do not have “much time left” [...]
Santander announces new buyback as profit jumps February 5, 2025 Spanish banking giant Santander has today reported a bumper set of numbers for 2024 thanks to higher income from its retail banking business and lower costs. For the year, the group reported a profit of €12.5bn (£10.4bn), up 14 per cent and revenue growth of eight per cent to €62.2bn. The group’s return on tangible [...]