Europe
Banking and finance news from the United Kingdom, European Union, and broader Europe
Freedom Holding Corp completes acquisition of Turkish Bank A.Ş., renaming it Freedom Bank
Freedom Holding Corp completed the acquisition of 99.32% of Turkish Bank A.Ş. on 31 July 2026 following BRSA and competition approvals, renaming it Freedom Bank A.Ş.
France's Credit Agricole posts €7.4 billion Q2 2026 revenues as group sales jump 12.9%
Credit Agricole S.A. lifted second-quarter revenues 7.7% to €7.4 billion, with wider group revenues climbing 12.9% to €10.9 billion.
UK's Standard Chartered posts record H1 2026 pre-tax profit of $4.8 billion; announces $1 billion buyback
Standard Chartered reported record H1 pre-tax profit of $4.8 billion, up 9% year on year, RoTE of 17.6%, EPS of 151.6 cents and a $1 billion buyback.
UK's NatWest Group posts H1 2026 attributable profit of £3.0 billion; RoTE of 19.7%
NatWest reported H1 attributable profit of £3.0 billion and RoTE of 19.7%, with the bank growing across all three of its main customer businesses.
Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International H1 2026 profit ex-Russia up 25% to €708 million; NII guidance raised
RBI reported H1 2026 consolidated profit excluding Russia of €708 million, up 25% year on year, and raised full-year NII guidance to above €4.4 billion.
UK's Lloyds Banking Group H1 2026 statutory pre-tax profit rises 23% to £4.29 billion
Lloyds Banking Group posted H1 2026 statutory pre-tax profit of £4.29bn, up 23% YoY, with underlying profit up 18% to £4.22bn and after-tax profit of £3.1bn.
France's Societe Generale reports record Q2 2026 net income of €1.8 billion, RoTE of 12.2%
SocGen posted a record Q2 group net income of €1.8 billion with RoTE of 12.2%, revenue up 4.5% and costs down 4.1%, with a CET1 ratio of 13.2%.
Spain's BBVA posts record H1 2026 net profit of €6.05 billion; announces €2 billion buyback
BBVA reported record H1 net attributable profit of €6.05 billion, up 11.1% year on year, and announced a fresh €2 billion extraordinary share buyback.
Bank of England holds Bank Rate at 3.75% in July as three MPC members vote for hike
The Bank of England kept Bank Rate at 3.75% in July on a 6-3 vote, with Greene, Mann and Pill dissenting for a 25 bp hike as CPI eased to 2.6%.
Netherlands' ING Group Q2 2026 net result of €1.95 billion; pre-tax profit up 23% to €2.9 billion
ING posted Q2 net result of €1.95 billion and pre-tax profit up 23% year on year to €2.9 billion, with net core lending growth of €15.2 billion.
Austria's Erste Group reports H1 2026 net profit of €1.98 billion; record Q2 above €1 billion
Erste Group posted H1 2026 net profit of €1,975 million and a record Q2 above €1 billion, with operating result up 49.3% year on year and Q2 RoTE of 22.1% (19.6% for the half).
UK's Barclays reports H1 2026 pre-tax profit up 17% to £6.1 billion; RoTE rises to 14.8%
Barclays lifted first-half income to £16.5 billion, announced a buyback of up to £1 billion and a 5.9p dividend, and raised its 2026 group income target to about £31.5 billion.