FTSE 100 news / Companies and sectors / Banks / 1 October 2026
Banks: sector news on Thursday 1 October 2026
Average tone +5.1 (positive) across 6 companies with relevant coverage, from 99 stories.
Company by company
| Company | Tone | Stories | What the coverage was about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Chartered | +3.3 | 35 | Coverage was dominated by the bank's research on Ethena, with a $2 ENA target and $40bn USDe forecast, plus its grants to women-led startups and Asean growth push. |
| HSBC | +5.3 | 25 | Coverage was mainly positive, led by Hong Kong granting HSBC a stablecoin licence and the naming of its RedCoin, plus a best FX bank award. |
| Lloyds Banking Group | +5.0 | 19 | Coverage was dominated by Lloyds completing a $750,000 USDC stablecoin settlement pilot with Visa, which was received positively. |
| NatWest Group | +3.7 | 10 | Coverage was mostly positive, led by NatWest being named best FX bank for G10 currencies and a £12.9m student housing loan. |
| Barclays | +3.7 | 9 | Coverage was mildly positive, led by a JP Morgan Buy rating and a Euromoney award for FX swaps. |
| Lion Finance Group | +9.3 | 1 | The only coverage specifically about Lion Finance Group concerned a higher quarterly payout for shareholders while it is in focus in the FTSE 100, which leans positive. |
Strongest stories in the sector
- +10.0 The world’s best FX bank for G10 currencies 2026: NatWest
Named world's best FX bank for G10 currencies - +9.3 How Is Lion Finance Group (LSE:BGEO) Rewarding Shareholders With A Higher Quarterly Payout Today With FTSE 100 In Focus?
Higher quarterly dividend and FTSE 100 attention reflect well on company. - +9.2 The world’s best bank for FX swaps 2026: Barclays
Named best bank for FX swaps by Euromoney - +9.2 Hong Kong Grants First Stablecoin Licenses to HSBC, Anchorpoint
First Hong Kong stablecoin licence granted to HSBC. - +9.2 Lloyds uses USDC to settle $750,000 with Visa in under an hour
Lloyds completes innovative stablecoin settlement pilot with Visa - +8.7 Lloyds Completes First Stablecoin Settlement Pilot With Visa Using USDC
First stablecoin settlement pilot completed with Visa - +8.3 Europe’s best FX bank for corporates 2026: HSBC
Named Europe's best FX bank for corporates. - +8.3 Lloyds and Visa Speed Up Cross-Border Payments With Stablecoin Settlement
Faster cross-border payments via stablecoin settlement - +8.3 Lloyds, Visa test stablecoin cross-border settlement in live pilot using USD 750,000 of obligations
Live stablecoin cross-border settlement test with Visa - +8.3 Lloyds Executes $750K Stablecoin Settlement Pilot Using USDC
Stablecoin settlement pilot shows innovation - +8.3 Visa and Lloyds Complete Live USDC Settlement Pilot
Live USDC settlement pilot completed with Visa - −8.3 Ignoring small depositors costs Standard Chartered its spot among top-tier lenders
Neglecting small depositors costs bank top-tier lender status.