$LYG

Shares of Barclays and Lloyds rose after reports suggested the UK Chancellor will raise bank taxes by less than expected. Barclays gained 2% to 430.50p, while Lloyds increased 2.2% to 104.40p. The banking surcharge, currently at 3%, is expected to rise temporarily but not to the 8% level of 2023. Industry leaders warn higher taxes could impact competitiveness and investment.

Lloyds Bank's new Cardiff HQ, 1 John Street, was sold for £38.4m to Second Horizon. The 115,000 sq ft building is fully leased to Lloyds under a 10-year agreement. Knight Frank marketed the property, highlighting Cardiff's attractive office market. Handelsbanken funded the purchase, with legal advice from Hugh James.

Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC, NatWest Group, and Santander are set to report Q3 results. Barclays, which reported £2.3B pre-tax profit, announced 5,000 job cuts. Analysts expect Lloyds to nearly double profit to £2.3B, NatWest to report £2.2B, and HSBC to jump to $9.7B. A potential bank surcharge hike to 8% from 3% could impact earnings, according to Interactive Investor.

UK banks, including Lloyds, HSBC, NatWest, and Santander, are expected to report stronger third-quarter profits. Chancellor John Healey may increase the bank surcharge from 3% to 8%. Barclays reported a 12% rise in pre-tax profits to £2.3 billion. Lloyds is forecast to nearly double its profit, while HSBC's earnings are expected to jump to $9.7 billion. Analysts suggest a tax hike could reduce earnings by 6%, with domestic banks potentially most affected.

Google Cloud experienced a power outage in its London data center, affecting 38 services and disrupting Revolut, HSBC, Lloyds, and others. The issue started at 07:08 BST and was partially resolved by 14:00 BST, with full recovery expected soon. Google attributed the outage to a power event in the Europe-West2-B zone, but details remain unclear.

Shares of major U.K. banks fell Friday on reports of a potential tax hike. Lloyds and NatWest declined, while Barclays, HSBC, and Standard Chartered rose. Finance Minister John Healey may increase the bank levy to 8% from 3%, which could raise £2 billion annually but cut lenders' earnings by 6%, according to KBW analysts.

RBC Capital downgraded Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) to Sector Perform, lowering its price target to GBP1.15. The firm cited increased competition in the UK deposit market, affecting net interest margins. Despite the downgrade, the stock is seen as undervalued with a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Lloyds reported H1 2026 revenue of GBP7.18 billion, beating expectations, but EPS missed forecasts.

Lloyds Banking Group and Visa completed a 7-day trial settling $750,000 in USDC stablecoins, with funds transferred in under an hour, even over the weekend. Lloyds purchased USDC via Archax and settled the transaction using separate blockchain networks. This pilot demonstrates faster cross-border settlement compared to traditional methods, though it's not yet a production service.

Lloyds Banking Group completed a $750,000 payment to Visa using USDC stablecoin in a trial, with funds arriving in under an hour. The trial connected two blockchain environments. Lloyds also reported that 71% of UK finance leaders expect tokenization to transform the industry, with faster payments and settlements cited as key benefits.

UK authorities are reviewing Polymarket after traders wagered $77,507 on potential failures of major banks, including HSBC and Lloyds, by 2026. Concerns arise over destabilizing public sentiment, with HSBC and Lloyds shares dropping 4.3% and 4.4% respectively. Polymarket defends its platform, comparing it to traditional credit default swaps, while regulators consider oversight.