Bank

• Revolut has secured a full French banking licence, marking its second full banking license within the European Union. • The fintech will use France as a Western European banking hub, transitioning operations there first before expanding to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. • This strategic move establishes a dual-hub model, with Lithuania continuing to serve as the hub for the remaining European Economic Area markets.

• Revolut has secured a French banking licence, establishing its second EU banking hub to expand its operational capabilities. • The licence allows the fintech giant to offer lending and savings products, initially to French customers before expanding to Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. • CEO Nik Storonsky stated that France serves as a critical financial hub to support the company's 30 million customers across Western Europe.

Industry body says use of private investigators against reporters is ‘attack on our democracy’ after apparent admission by Reform donorThe businessman and Reform UK donor Arron Banks is facing calls to lay out the extent of his surveillance of journalists, described by an industry body as an “attack on our democracy”.The News Media Association (NMA), which represents regional and national media, raised concerns after Banks appeared to admit over the weekend to hiring private investigators to spy on a Sunday Times journalist. Continue reading...

Shadow justice secretary says artist should foot bill, while others say his murals make art accessibleThree Banksy artworks have cost taxpayers almost £150,000 in cleaning, security and other costs, with the bill expected to rise.The largest bill relates to a mural painted on the Royal Courts of Justice in London in September 2025, where efforts to remove it and provide security have so far cost more than £85,000, according to the BBC. Continue reading...

Finance sector will gain from the tech but it will need substantial investment and create risks, says rating agencyThe rating agency Moody’s has said the race to adopt AI is putting big banks at the mercy of a small group of Silicon Valley firms, leaving them vulnerable to widespread outages and price gouging by profit-hungry tech bosses.The financial sector’s efforts to integrate AI into day-to-day operations will eventually cut costs and increase revenues across the City and Wall Street, Moody’s said. Continue reading...

Asked whether he targeted reporter who investigated party finances, Brexit campaigner says: ‘When you live by the sword, you die by the sword’The prominent Reform UK member and Brexit campaigner Arron Banks is said to have set private investigators on a Sunday Times journalist after he broke a series of stories about Nigel Farage.Banks is alleged to have paid for the services of investigators to examine Gabriel Pogrund, editor of the paper’s Insight investigations team. Continue reading...

• Novo co-founder Michael Rangel highlights how major Wall Street banks have effectively priced out approximately 36 million small businesses from essential financial services. • Despite the rise of fintech, Rangel notes that his own company still faces challenges in providing banking services to crypto-related firms due to systemic barriers. • The issue is critical as the solopreneur economy grows; Stripe research from June shows that 4 million Americans earned over $100,000 as solopreneurs in 2023, up from roughly 2 million in the early 2010s.