Britain’s largest banks are urging the UK Treasury to start a formal review of taxes on the industry, amid concern HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered could move overseas to avoid a levy on balance sheets.

A “greedy” City trader tried to involve his “cheeky young graduate” stepbrother in an attempt to rig a key interest rate, a court has heard.

Britain’s relations with the EU took another knock yesterday when its legal challenge to a limit on bankers’ bonuses was rejected by an adviser to the bloc’s top court.

Banking shares rose today after Britain’s biggest lenders were given until 2019 to meet new standards on financial health set by the Bank of England.

UK authorities are examining whether the country needs to apply an EU court ruling that could add hundreds of millions of pounds of taxes to banks and insurers.

There has been no discussions between the Irish Central Bank and any US banks about a possible relocation to Dublin if the UK leaves the EU, according to sources. 

Bankers should have to swear an oath of good service in the same way as doctors, a think-tank said today.

Mobile phone and internet banking transactions in the UK have reached nearly £1 billion a day, according to a new report.

House prices in the UK have leapt by 11.1% over the last year in the strongest annual growth seen since June 2007, building society Nationwide has reported.

A US regulator has sued 16 big banks that set a key global interest rate, accusing them of fraud and conspiring to keep the rate low to enrich themselves.

A powerful global financial regulator is to scrutinise benchmarks that are used in currency trading, a first sign that the market may be kept on a tighter leash after manipulation claims.

Replacing the quote-based Libor with an index drawing on actual market trades will not happen any time soon, the benchmark’s new administrator said yesterday.

Britain’s banks are to fork out more than £1bn to cover the cost of compensation payments made to UK savers in failed Icelandic banks at the height of the financial crisis.

Net lending to companies rose last month for the first time since January in a sign that business confidence is improving as the British economic recovery gathers pace.

The US owner of the New York Stock Exchange will take over the running of Libor, the benchmark interest rate at the centre of a global rigging scandal, wresting control from a British bankers’ trade body for a token £1 (€1.16).

Lobbying against the EU’s Robin Hood-style financial transaction tax has been ramped up following the apparent intervention of the European Central Bank.

A group campaigning for new taxes to tackle poverty and climate change staged a protest outside a bankers’ meeting today, calling on the British government to rein in the “out of control” banks.

The rate-rigging scandal that has rocked the banking industry showed no signs of abating today as US authorities summoned three British banks for questioning.

British house prices have recorded their biggest year-on-year decline in almost three years amid the toughening economy, Nationwide building society said yesterday.

If we take Bob Diamond and Paul Tucker at their word, part of the Libor scandal at Barclays can be chalked up to a series of comic misunderstandings, like a children’s game of telephone.

Serious Fraud Office investigators are in talks with the City watchdog in Britain over the Barclays rate-rigging scandal that has rocked the banking industry, Chancellor George Osborne said today.

Eleven people were arrested after a day of protest in London saw anti-capitalists from the Occupy movement pitch tents outside the Bank of England.

The UK’s banks missed targets for lending to smaller businesses in 2011 by more than £1bn, according to figures released today.

London’s leading shares index closed nearly 3% higher today after a favourable stockbroker’s note triggered a strong session for Britain’s beleagured banking shares.

Eight out of 90 banks across Europe have failed stress tests, the European Banking Authority said today, a slight increase on seven last year.

The UK’s top banks were today accused of failing to do enough to back small businesses after figures revealed lending targets agreed with the Government are set to be missed.

The banking industry today abandoned its legal fight over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, paving the way for thousands of customers who were mis-sold the policies to receive compensation.

Barclays is set to follow its rival Lloyds Banking Group and abandon its legal fight over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, it was reported today.

House prices in Britain resumed their downward trend during April as the property market remained volatile, figures showed today.

CHANCELLOR George Osborne refused to let the British banking sector off the hook yesterday as he announced another hike in the bank levy to offset corporation tax cuts.

The number of people remortgaging in the UK rose to a 19-month high during February as homeowners braced themselves for interest rate rises, figures showed today.

Mortgage lending in the UK rose at its slowest rate for more than a decade during November as the number of loans approved for house purchase also slumped to a 20-month low, figures showed today.

THE British government will tax banks’ balance sheets at a higher rate than first proposed, raising almost £9 billion (€10.68bn) over the next four years.

Britain’s biggest banks are involved in behind-the-scenes talks over a joint plan to cut bonus payouts and boost lending to small businesses, it was reported today.

The FTSE 100 Index plunged by nearly 2% today as Irish bailout fears and Korean military tensions rattled investors’ confidence.

Barclays is to become the first major bank to offer basic accounts to prisoners reaching the end of their sentence, an ex-offenders association said today.

Consumers were warned today that there would be no return to the era of cheap money after tough new regulations were drawn up to boost capital reserves held by banks.

Downing Street this morning declined to confirm reports that HSBC bank chairman Stephen Green is to be appointed a minister in David Cameron’s Government.

Mortgage lending in the UK remained subdued during July as the housing market failed to pick up, figures showed today.

London: British consumers are likely to get another chance to file class-action lawsuits against banks after a clause allowing such cases was dropped from legislation written to respond to the financial crisis.

The number of mortgages approved for house purchase in the UK reached its highest level for two years during November, figures showed today.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown tonight suffered an embarrassing rebuff when he floated the prospect of a new tax worldwide, only to have it flatly and publicly rejected by the United States and other major financial players.

Mortgage lending by the major banks in the UK rose by 46% in August following a dip during the previous month, figures showed today.

British government plans to tighten up regulation of the banking industry threaten to hamstring the sector and further add to the UK’s lending woes, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) warned today.