Could there be another 'Big Bang'?

Afternoon all,

The City of London changed forever, 40 years ago. On 27 October 1986, the sudden deregulation of financial markets known as the Big Bang took effect - and the Square Mile was pushed to the forefront of global finance. Is a similar unleashing of “animal spirits” possible again now?

Well, to bring us crashing back to the present day, Sadiq Khan is urging international banks such as JP Morgan not to reconsider their investments in London - even as the Chancellor prepares for a probable tax raid on the sector.

We’ll be back in your inboxes at 8am tomorrow. In the meantime, have a great Thursday evening!

Matt

The City of London was changed forever by a sweeping package of deregulation in 1986, known as the Big Bang. Forty years on – and facing existential threats – can the Square Mile reinvent itself again?

On Monday, the Mayor of London said the City’s banking sector is “really important” but refused to say whether he opposed the tax raid, adding that “those with broader shoulders carry the greatest burden”. 

Chancellor John Healey is expected to target the sector with a tax grab when he takes to the despatch box on Wednesday.

The digital bank said on Monday it would begin offering loans between £2,000 and £25,000, which will be repayable over one to five years.

The firm has insisted loans will have “transparent terms” and funds will be transferred within “minutes” following approval.

The Chancellor will use his maiden Autumn Budget this week to protect nearly one million retirees who are dependent on the state guarantee by announcing they will not pay income tax.

The plans to shield them from income tax was first announced by then chancellor Rachel Reeves in last year’s Budget and the policy is expected to run until the end of this Parliament.

The Claude developer published its long-awaited IPO prospectus with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, offering investors their first detailed look at its finances ahead of what could become one of the largest flotations in history.

Revenue surged to $16.3bn in the six months to June, up from $1.1bn a year earlier, as businesses ramped up spending on its AI models and coding tools.

Filings at Companies House show that 11,327,163 new shares in CFG were allotted on 14 October, raising the nine-figure sum. A spokesperson for CFG confirmed to City AM that the shares were bought by Sheikh Mansour’s Newton Investment and Development, marginally increasing his majority holding.

The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street will create a new a public realm where it is anticipated that people will enjoy the new space, stay longer and spend more, says Andrew Busby.

Prince Ali spoke out in a social media post on Sunday, days after the head of the Asian Football Confederation, Bahrain’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, used an extraordinary congress to pledge the region’s support to under-fire Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

“Confederation presidents have no say: the vote is by each and every member association,” he wrote on X.

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