Bank a tidy profit by swerving the Big Four: Our shares guru's expert advice on the smaller fish financial firms to invest in - including one that's up 80% since she first tipped it two years ago
It's been a bumpy ride, particularly for the so-called Big Four – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest. Pummelled by the Global Financial Crisis, prodded and poked by online start-ups and squeezed by years of low interest rates, mainstream lenders disappointed investors for years.
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Finextra
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Digital asset bank Sygnum integrates Sui blockchain token, SUI
Sygnum, a global digital asset banking group, today announces a variety of accessible custody, trading, and lending solutions for layer-one cryptocurrency, SUI, broadening access for professional and institutional clients to the Sui ecosystem. Sygnum's regulated product portfolio and bank-grade infrastructure provides Sui with a trusted gateway to tap into the accelerating inflows from financial institutions, banks, asset managers and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI). 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. SUI is fully integrated into Sygnum's banking platform. Regulated services include institutional-grade digital asset custody, spot and derivatives trading, staking and Sui collateral-backed Lombard Loansii, complemented by a broad range of traditional securities. "Broadening institutional access to the Sui ecosystem further expands Sui's reach to the global institutional investor community,' said Christian Thompson, Sui Foundation CEO. 'Sygnum's crypto-native team, end-to-end regulated offering and trusted infrastructure make them our ideal banking partner as we continue to build and scale.' 'We're pleased to be a banking partner for the Sui Foundation and expand access to professional and institutional investors via Sygnum, a regulated bank', said Mathias Imbach, Sygnum Co-Founder and Group CEO. 'Sygnum's unique understanding of digital assets sits at the intersection of the rapidly converging digital asset and regulated financial ecosystems. We are excited to support the Sui Foundation in developing the future-proof, opportunity-ready treasury it needs to continue its growth trajectory.' Sui, developed by a team of former Meta engineers at Mysten Labs, is designed to deliver crypto's decentralised benefits with the ease and familiarity of today's internet. The Sui blockchain processes activity in parallel, making it highly scalable in the same way as Cloud services. Sui supports a wide range of applications, including DeFi, instant payments, Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization and gaming. It is also an early leader in BTCfi (Bitcoin Finance) where it enables Bitcoin owners to engage with DeFi and earn, lend, and trade without compromising security.
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The Sun
17 minutes ago
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37 NatWest and Lloyds bank branches are closing in just weeks – full list of areas affected
A STAGGERING 37 NatWest and Lloyds branches will put their shutters down for good in just weeks. The number of bank branches has plummeted in recent years, as Brits increasingly turn to online banking. 2 2 Figures from December 2024 stated that a shocking 6,214 bank branches have closed their doors since January 2015. That means an average of 53 bank branches have closed every single month since then. Sam Richardson, Which?'s deputy editor, said that the closures represent a 'seismic shift' in how Brits bank. He said: 'The milestone of more than 6,000 bank closures in just nine years underscores the seismic shift that has taken place in terms of our banking habits and the character of the British high street.' NatWest is reducing its number of high street locations NatWest is just one of the major banks to be closing a slew of its sites in the UK. According to the Metro, a NatWest spokesperson said that more than 80% of its current account holders use digital services, and over 97% of retail accounts are opened online. A total of 54 branches will be putting the shutters down this year, with some closing as early as next month. Locations in Birmingham and Leicester will be closing for good in September, along with branches in Rayleigh and Newmarket. Full list of NatWest closures NatWest are closing a huge number of bank branches in the coming weeks. The full list includes: Garstand, expected to be confirmed later Market Drayton, expected to be confirmed later Willerby, September 22 Abingdon, September 24 Birmingham (Acocks Green), September 16 Ashby-de-la-Zouch, expected to be confirmed later Bicester, September 30 Bridgwater, October 27 Bridport, October 29 Cardiff (Canton), September 16 Chippenham, October 15 Cirencester, September 17 Cromer, expected to be announced Cwmbran, September 1 Dorchester, October 22 Birmingham (Edgbaston), September 11 Ely, September 10 Evesham, expected to be confirmed later Bristol (Fishponds), September 4 Halesowen, September 3 Hinckley, September 17 Honiton, October 21 Launceston, expected to be confirmed later Luton (Leagrave), September 15 Leicester (Melton Road), September 2 Leighton Buzzard, October 28 Llangefni, September 4 Cardiff (Llanishen), September 11 Lowestoft, October 15 Melton Mowbray, September 29 Midsomer Norton, October 8 Mold, October 21 Neath, October 13 Newmarket (Suffolk), September 24 Northampton (Weston Favell Shopping Centre), September 15 Leicester (Oadby), September 10 Paignton, October 2 Portishead, expected to be confirmed later Rayleigh, September 2 Redditch, October 14 Ringwood, October 1 Romsey, October 13 Leamington Spa, October 1 Birmingham (Shirley), October 1 Birmingham (Smethwick), September 25 Stevenage, October 7 Stratford-upon-Avon, October 8 Sudbury, September 30 Torquay, expected to be confirmed later Trowbridge, October 16 Wellingborough, October 7 Wickford, September 18 Wisbech, September 1 Yate, September 25 Santander is closing a huge number of branches Santander will be closing a fifth of its branches in a major cost-cutting mission. The closures have come after an urgent warning from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which says banks and building societies must ensure people in the local community can still access their money. However, Santander has confirmed previously that 93% of the UK population will still be within 10 miles of a branch Full list of Santander closures The full list of Santander branches closing its doors includes: Brixton, August 11 Canvey Island, August 5 Colwyn Bay, July 24 Downpatrick, August 6 Edgware Road, August 12 Farnham, July 29 Finchley, August 6 Formby, August 11 Hawick, July 24 Hertford, July 29 Holywell, August 13 New Milton, July 28 Plympton, August 14 Pudsey, July 28 Ross-On-Wye, July 30 Rustington, August 5 Sidcup, August 11 St Neots, July 30 Stokesley, July 31 Surrey Quays, November 10 Whitley Bay, August 6 Willerby, August 13 Wimborne, August 4 Halifax says that customers are using online banking more Halifax has previously said that it had a 48 per cent drop in face-to-face transaction at the various branches over the past five years. At the time, a spokesperson for Halifax said: "Most customers are now using our mobile banking app, internet banking or calling us instead. "This means they are using branches less." As a result, the brand has chosen to close a huge number of branches to save costs. Full list of Halifax closures Like many other banks, Halifax is closing several branches. The full list includes: Barrow-in-Furness, September 10 Bexleyheath, October 23 Blackpool (South Shore), October 29 Brentwood, September 10 Bristol (Kingswood), October 8 Carmarthen, October 6 Castleford, September 8 Cirencester, September 25 Crewe, October 14 Derby, October 23 Eltham, October 29 Epsom, September 15 Erdington, September 24 Folkestone, October 9 Hayes (Hillingdon), October 6 Hexham, November 11 Hove, October 20 London Clapham Junction, September 23 Long Eaton, September 18 Mold, October 16 Nortwich, September 3 Rhyl, September 23 Richmond (Surrey), September 16 Skegness, September 3 Southport, October 7 Stevenage, October 23 Telford, October 22 Walkden, September 25 Wickford, November 10 Woolwich, October 1 Bolton, November 20 Manchester (Stretford), October 15 A staggering number of Lloyds stores are closing in the next two years Just like its competitors, Lloyds has chosen to shut down some of its stores as Brits turn to online banking. Many of the closures will take place at branches in the North of England and the Midlands. An estimated 300 Lloyds locations will shut their doors in 2025 and 2026. Full list of Lloyd's closures Lloyds are closing down several branches as shoppers shift to online banking The list includes: Biggleswade, November 5 Blandford Forum, November 10 Bristol Bishopsworth (Church Road), November 6 Bury, October 21 Chard, November 11 Coventry (Foleshill), November 4 Debden, November 12 Dunstable, November 4 East Grinstead, November 12 Feltham, November 4 Ferndown, November 17 Hexham, November 5 Hornchurch, September 11 Kidderminster, October 16 Leeds (Cross Gates), August 20 London Tooting, October 8 Manchester (Newton Heath), November 5 Plymstock, November 4 Pontardawe, November 20 Sheffield (Woodhouse), November 11 Shipston-on-Stour, November 11 Southall, October 15 Stoke-on-Trent (Trent), October 10 Walthamstow High Street, October 22 The Bank of Scotland is also shutting stores The Bank of Scotland is closing four of its branches in the remaining months of 2025, including one in the popular tourist town of Pitlochry. A spokeswoman for the business said: 'Over 20 million customers are using our apps for on-demand access to their money and customers have more choice and flexibility than ever for their day-to-day banking. 'Alongside our apps, customers can also use telephone banking, visit a community banker or use any Halifax, Lloyds or Bank of Scotland branch, giving access to many more branches. 'Customers can also do their everyday banking at over 11,000 branches of the Post Office or in a Banking Hub.'
