British banks have defied the Brexit gloom to increase their profits by a third, outpacing the Eurozone, according to new figures.

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banking Group (CYBG) — which is headed up by former AIB CEO David Duffy — has laid out plans to challenge Britain’s big banks, betting that a re-brand as Virgin Money and growth in business banking will help it to shake up the market.

UK retail banking customers enjoy the benefits of a highly competitive market which has seen aggressive pressures on mortgage pricing, personal loan pricing, and savings rates.

Ulster Bank’s profits improved in the first quarter of the year, but ongoing Brexit uncertainty and heightening competition in the UK has increased the pressure on its parent Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Ulster Bank, is searching for a new chief executive. Ross McEwan has resigned, signalling a fresh start for the bank as it heads for full private ownership, after a state bailout.

Boeing and Brexit vied for attention on global financial markets, as sterling slumped as the political woes of UK prime minister Theresa May appeared to deepen, while the planemaker’s shares came under renewed pressure after countries closed airspace to the 737 Max.

Noel Moran wrested his pre-paid card company from the jaws of defeat into a multimillion-euro company which now employs 200 people, with plans to employ 800 more. He tells Louise Walsh how he did it

A scathing report by the UK’s Treasury Committee into the way RBS treated small firms highlights the need for greater competition and tougher regulatory controls, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged Barclays Bank over a $3bn (€2.44bn) loan given to the State of Qatar as part of a side deal linked to its emergency fundraising in 2008.

Britain is expected to choose a new central bank chief this year to succeed Canadian Mark Carney, who will step down in June 2019, three months after the country’s scheduled exit from the EU. No one has yet thrown their hat into the ring to succeed him, but there are numerous contenders.

A former Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) trader was fined £250,000 (€281,780) and banned from working in the industry by the UK markets regulator for manipulating Libor, five years after the bank was penalised for its role in the scandal.

Ireland's Tadhg Furlong has been named among the best rugby players in the world.

The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point but left its rate outlook for the coming years unchanged even as policymakers projected a short-term acceleration in US economic growth.

The UK's financial watchdog has defended its handling of a report into Royal Bank of Scotland's treatment of small business customers following claims it failed to publish the document over fears of being sued.

Sterling went on a roller-coaster yesterday falling back sharply as high hopes for a Brexit deal were dashed, while US and European shares surged following the US Senate weekend vote to approve president Donald Trump’s tax-cutting bill.

Britain’s banks all avoided bills for more capital in annual stress tests for the first time since 2014, but the Bank of England warned of pain ahead if there is no Brexit deal and said the country’s current account deficit posed a big risk.

Joe Schmidt was under no illusions as he surveyed the fast-approaching 2018 Six Nations Championship.

The country’s financial institutions are getting a good kicking — perhaps deservedly so.

Ulster Bank looks set to keep the costs of provisions pegged at €211m for its part in the industry-wide tracker mortgage scandal.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said its potential bill for claims against its small business restructuring division will remain at £400m (€448m) after misconduct allegations against it were dismissed by Britain’s financial regulator.

A decade after the onset of the property and banking crash, mortgage debt means households

Ulster Bank has set aside a further €39m in redress cost provisions to cover what it calls “errors” concerning its personal and commercial loan books.

Worldpay, the UK payment-processing company that listed in London two years ago, said it has received preliminary takeover approaches from Vantiv and JPMorgan Chase.

Royal Bank of Scotland pursued last-minute settlement talks with a group of investors to avoid a potentially embarrassing trial over allegations the lender misled them about a 2008 capital increase.

A group representing Royal Bank of Scotland investors has accepted an out-of-court deal to settle a lawsuit that aimed to call disgraced former CEO Fred Goodwin to account over a £12bn (€13.7bn) cash call in 2008.

Royal Bank of Scotland is bracing for a costly court battle with shareholders that is to see former boss Fred Goodwin defend his role in the lender's near collapse during the financial crisis.

Lloyds Bank said the UK had sold its last remaining stake in the bank, making the lender the first to re-emerge from British state ownership in a symbolic step for the country’s recovering banking sector.

The UK Labour Party would launch a consultation to break up state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Ulster Bank, into smaller local banks, the party said at the launch of its election manifesto.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is in talks to settle one of the two major US investigations into allegations it mis-sold mortgage-backed securities it needs to overcome before the British government can sell its shares in the bailed-out bank.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has defended the way its top bosses are awarded after some shareholders criticised the lender for not making deeper cuts to pay.

Bank of Ireland’s major operations in Britain have so far weathered the fallout of Brexit but the deficit in the lender’s defined benefit pension scheme continues to drag on its capital.

The “relief rally” by markets on the outcome of the first round of the French presidential elections makes it likely that the Government will get its planned sale of AIB shares away by early summer, a leading analyst has said.

Of 1003 anti-doping tests carried out by Sport Ireland last year, four resulted in rule violations. Yet, over 40% of Irish athletes surveyed by Sport Ireland claimed to personally know someone who used banned substances.

Ireland welcome Rob Kearney back to training today ahead of Friday’s must-win Six Nations clash with Wales as the backline selection conundrums multiply for head coach Joe Schmidt.

British insurer RSA is targeting a return to profit in its Irish operations this year, after reporting a 61.5% rise in operating losses for 2016.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is preparing to cut more than €1.17bn (£1bn) of annual operating costs by eliminating jobs and closing branches as it seeks to bolster profitability, said a person with knowledge of the plans.

Ben Youngs has urged England to continue rebuilding Twickenham into a fortress as they stand on the brink of a team-record 15th successive Test victory.

Ireland flew into Edinburgh last night with what head coach Joe Schmidt described as a “quiet confidence” that the players he will send into the RBS 6 Nations fray at Murrayfield tomorrow can ignore the hype surrounding Scotland and continue their winning ways.

Here's your evening bulletin.

Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Howard Davies indicated the UK taxpayer-owned bank would probably pick Dublin as its EU base following Brexit and may have to move “tens” of employees from Britain to other offices.