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travel & leisure An Indian company run by a billionaire industrialist has taken ownership of one of London's landmark hotels after Royal Bank of Scotland, the UK taxpayer-backed bank, sold [...]

non-life insurance Some renewals will increase by 50% Renewing motor insurance policies could cost UK drivers as much as 50 per cent more in 2011 as providers have been hit [...]

banks The UK's two state-backed banks are well on their way to hitting government-set lending targets for 2010, in spite of claims from the Bank of England that lenders are [...]

[pounds sterling]4.3bn charge 30% higher than expected Rapid worsening of market conditions Profits at Lloyds Banking Group are set to fall to about half that previously expected after the government-backed [...]

Industry pay Balancing austerity with big bonuses is moving steadily up the agenda, write Megan Murphy, Sharlene Goff and Patrick Jenkins It is not surprising that senior politicians have ratcheted [...]

General Financial Norwich & Peterborough building society, the UK's ninth-largest mutual, is in early discussions with a number of parties that could lead to a merger in the early months [...]

News analysis Public pressure and severity of the crisis help government stance on bonuses, write Sharlene Goff and John Murray Brown Vince Cable must be eyeing with envy the decisive [...]

banks News analysis The lender will lose state support if it pays staff bonuses, write Sharlene Goff and John Murray Brown As governments around the world scramble to negotiate workable [...]

Ditching free model risks loss of business Banks privately embrace the idea of charging for current accounts but the fear of losing customers means none is prepared to be the [...]

Banks [pounds sterling]50m in fresh cash to expand network Metro Bank is stepping up its UK expansion after raising [pounds sterling]50m of fresh funds from existing investors to open more [...]

BANKS News analysis Ireland's 'liability management' strategy is being closely watched, say Jennifer Hughes, Anousha Sakoui and Sharlene Goff Bank of Ireland's junior bondholders must this week decide whether to [...]

Credit fears put people off spending Banks making it harder and more expensive to borrow is the dominant force in falling lending to households and businesses, according to the Bank [...]

The stage is set for a bitter row over the degree of concentration in the retail banking market after new entrants to the sector attacked assertions from the two biggest [...]

Banks have long lamented the fierce competition for top investment bankers in emerging markets and the price they have to pay to attract talent, writes Sharlene Goff . In revealing [...]

banks Standard Chartered said that increased competition for top bankers and greater regulatory pressures had triggered a sharp rise in costs. That disappointed the market just weeks after the Asia-focused [...]

Larger groups with risks to pay more Increase to bring in additional [pounds sterling]400m Some of Britain's biggest banks face paying as much as 50 per cent more than expected [...]

Banks Bank of Ireland has begun its efforts to raise the [euro]2.2bn of fresh capital demanded by officials with a debt exchange offer that could net the lender almost a [...]

The chief executives of Britain's two state-backed banks launched a vigorous defence of competition in the UK banking market and denied there would be a benefit in breaking up large [...]

Irving Picard's $7bn lawsuit against HSBC is the latest in a series of legal and regulatory woes to hit the bank in the wake of the financial crisis, write Megan [...]

News analysis Scale of Ireland's financial crisis overwhelmed debt scheme, writes Sharlene Goff Looking back at comments made when Nama was launched this year, there is a sense that Ireland's [...]

banks News analysis Ireland's 'bad bank' burdened lenders by crystallising their losses, writes Sharlene Goff Looking back at comments made when Nama was launched this year there is a sense [...]

Attention may be largely focused on the radical restructuring of Ireland's biggest banks - Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish Bank - but the country's trio of [...]

Deleverage order part of bail-out deal Need to reduce loan-to-deposit ratios Ireland will have to accelerate the shrinking of its troubled banks' balance sheets in return for gaining continued access [...]

Sir Fred Goodwin and other former directors of Royal Bank of Scotland made 'bad decisions' but will not face criminal or regulatory charges for leading the bank to the brink [...]

RBS probe Critics say a narrow focus produced an 'inevitable' result, report Brooke Masters and Megan Murphy The 17-month investigation into the costly failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland [...]

Banks Ireland measures exceed provisions [euro]2bn to kick-start deleveraging Measures outlined in the rescue package for Irish banks were designed to enable the troubled institutions to withstand extreme 'super-stressed' conditions, [...]

Banks The package of rescue measures outlined for Irish banks was designed to enable the troubled institutions to withstand extreme 'super-stressed' conditions. Those include a doubling of losses on buy-to-let [...]

BANKS News analysis Loans to peripheral nations means jitters will return, write Patrick Jenkins, Sharlene Goff and Patrick Mathurin Jean-Claude Trichet was not formally a signatory to the weekend bail-out [...]

general financial Plan to distribute loan book funds Bank creditors to Cattles have supported a restructuring of the stricken sub-prime lender to pave the way for shareholders and bondholders to [...]

Bail-out reaction Lack of a coherent plan is still a concern, write Sharlene Goff and Patrick Jenkins Shares in Ireland's biggest banks shot up on Monday even as fears arose [...]

Banks News analysis The bank has still to integrate South Africa's Absa, write Sharlene Goff and Patrick Jenkins Barclays will place the booming African market firmly at the centre of [...]

Financial sector The landscape of the Irish banking market is set to change beyond recognition after the government on Sunday night signed off a [euro]35bn rescue package to restore capital [...]

Barclays' presence in Africa dates back to the late-19th century, writes Sharlene Goff . Yet building its operations there has not been free of trouble, as the bank's relationship with [...]

Peter Sands has steered Standard Chartered, the Asia-focused British bank, through the financial crisis in relatively good shape and raised [pounds sterling]3.3bn of fresh capital to fund the bank's growth [...]

banks Move to boost key capital ratios AIB to be effectively nationalised Ireland's three largest banks could receive an immediate cash injection of about [euro]12bn ([pounds sterling]10bn) from the government [...]

Banks News analysis The controversial deal has come to define his career, say Patrick Jenkins and Sharlene Goff Eric Daniels is a bit of a mystery man. With that steely [...]

Government called on to leave deal intact Daniels says competition waiver should still stand The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has called on the coalition government to honour what [...]

banks Ireland's three largest banks could receive an immediate cash injection of about [euro]12bn ($16bn) from the government and be given access to a much larger pool of rescue funds, [...]

News analysis Full state ownership of the domestic banking system is the obvious option, write Sharlene Goff and Patrick Jenkins Full-blown nationalisation of Ireland's banking system sounds extreme, but that [...]

No lender independent of state will remain The Irish government plans to take a majority stake in Bank of Ireland, which will leave the Republic without a single significant lender [...]

News analysis Full state ownership of the domestic banking system is the obvious option, say Sharlene Goff and Patrick Jenkins Full-blown nationalisation of Ireland's banking system sounds extreme, but that [...]

General Financial Nationwide Building Society reported a marked rise in first-half profits as bad loans fell sharply and the product offering was diversified away from savings accounts and mortgages. An [...]

News analysis Full state ownership is the obvious option, say Sharlene Goff and Patrick Jenkins Full nationalisation of -Ireland's banking system sounds extreme, but that is almost certainly one of [...]

Liquidity risks Portugal's struggle to persuade financial markets that it will not need an international bail-out is testing the resilience of a small banking sector seen as demarcating the country [...]

Pressure is mounting on Ireland to agree to a joint European Union-International Monetary Fund rescue package, as fresh evidence emerges of fading confidence in the country's banking system. With the [...]

Support Services US banks are becoming more willing to lend to consumers and companies, Experian said after a recovery in its most important market helped the credit services group lift [...]

Retail The sector is striving to win back the trust of customers, writes Sharlene Goff When a new bank sprang up on the UK high-street this year, some observers were [...]

Philanthropy Sharlene Goff examines how banks are trying to do more than make cash donations Banks around the world are seeking new ways to engage with charities as they look [...]

Lending Demand is likely to remain subdued for some time to come, writes Sharlene Goff Of all the criticism fired at the banks since the financial crisis the biggest public [...]

News analysis As Dublin tackled toxic assets and capital bases, new problems arose, say Patrick Jenkins and Sharlene Goff The Irish have always been known for their sense of humour. [...]