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Britain’s biggest high street lenders have pledged to upgrade dozens of shared banking hubs and commit to more than 100 new locations amid a growing political row over access to cash.

Sky News has learnt that Bim Afolami, the City minister, convened a group of industry stakeholders and MPs on Monday to discuss urgent improvements to roughly 40 existing hubs across the country.

The banks have now pledged to identify 225 locations for hubs by the end of the year, up from 11.

The facilities are designed to enable continued consumer access to cash amid a deluge of bank branch closures across the UK.

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According to a person who attended the meeting, the main high street banks, including Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group, committed through their trade association to offering bereavement services, fraud protection and debt advice at the hubs.

They also pledged to open on Saturdays and to enable consumers to use the services without requiring their own mobile devices, according to a person briefed on the talks.

Saturday pledge

“The minister was clear that people depend on these services and wants to ensure they get the possible banking offer,” they added.

MPs including Anna Firth, the member for Southend West, and Keir Mather, Labour MP for Selby and Ainsty, are understood to have attended the meeting.

The government has introduced legislation to preserve access to cash, although Labour has said it would go further by guaranteeing the opening of 350 hubs that would provide face-to-face banking services.

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City minister Bim Afolami wants to ensure people get the possible banking offer.

Industry sources say that one complication has arisen from Nationwide’s commitment to maintaining its branch network, because the hubs are designated for locations where there are no remaining bank branches.

Rule amendment push

However, Nationwide does not offer a full range of business banking services, making it harder for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to deposit cash, according to industry sources.

Some are now pushing for the rules to be amended to enable hubs to be recommended in these locations.

Roughly 100 hubs are expected to be opened by the end of the year, up from 40 currently.

Mr Afolami told Sky News: “Access to banking services is an incredibly important issue for many people.

“On Monday I brought together UK Finance, LINK, Cash Access UK and the FCA to hear directly from MPs about their constituents’ experiences, and for the industry to set out how things will be moving forward in the future.”

Natalie Ceeney, chair of Cash Access UK, said: “We’re pleased with the ongoing rollout of new banking hubs, with 40 up and running so far, and with new hubs opening this week in Wellington (Somerset), Royal Wootton Bassett (Wilts) and Stapleton (Greater Manchester).

“We expect to have 100 open by the end of the year as we ramp up our deployment.”

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US trade deal ‘possible’ but not ‘certain’, says senior minister

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US trade deal 'possible' but not 'certain', says senior minister

A trade deal with the US is “possible” but not “certain”, a senior minister has said as he struck a cautious tone about negotiations with the White House.

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips there was “a serious level of engagement going on at high levels” to secure a UK-US trade deal.

However, Mr McFadden, a key ally of Sir Keir Starmer, struck a more cautious tone than Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the prospect of a US trade deal, saying: “I think an agreement is possible – I don’t think it’s certain, and I don’t want to say it’s certain, but I think it’s possible.”

He went on to say the government wanted an “agreement in the UK’s interests” and not a “hasty deal”, amid fears from critics that Number 10 could acquiesce a deal that lowers food standards, for example, or changes certain taxes in a bid to persuade Donald Trump to lower some of the tariffs that have been placed on British goods.

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And asked about the timing of the deal – following recent reports an agreement was imminent – Mr McFadden said: “We’ll keep working with the United States and keep trying to get to an agreement in the coming weeks.”

As well as talks with the US, the UK has also ramped up its efforts with the EU, with suggestions it could include a new EU youth mobility scheme that would allow under-30s from the bloc to live, work and study in the UK and vice versa.

Mr McFadden said he believed the government could “improve upon” the Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson, saying it had caused “an awful lot of bureaucracy and costs here in the UK”.

He said “first and foremost” on the government’s agenda was securing a food and agriculture and a veterinary agreement, saying it was “such an important area for the UK and an area where we’ve had so much extra cost and bureaucracy because of Brexit”.

He added: “But again, as with the United States, there’s no point in calling the game before it’s done. We’ve still got work to do, and we’re doing that work with our partners in the EU.”

The Cabinet Office minister also rejected suggestions the UK would have to choose between pursuing a trade deal with the US and one with the EU – the latter of which has banned chlorinated chicken in its markets – as has the UK – but which the US has historically wanted.

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On the issue of chlorinated chicken, Mr McFadden said the government had “made clear we will not water down animal welfare standards with either party”.

“But I don’t agree that it’s some fundamental choice beyond where we have to pick one trading partner rather than another. I think that’s to misunderstand the nature of the UK economy, and I don’t think would be in our interests to put all our eggs in one basket.”

Also speaking to Trevor Phillips was Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the government should be close to closing the deal with the US “because we got very close last time President Trump was in office”.

She also insisted food standards should not be watered down in order to get a deal, saying she did not reach an agreement with Canada when she was in government for that reason.

“What Labour needs to do now is show that they can get a deal that isn’t making concessions, so we can have what we had last month before the trade tariffs, and we need serious people doing this,” she said.

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UK growth could be ‘postponed’ for two years, report warns

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UK growth could be 'postponed' for two years, report warns

UK economic growth could be “postponed” for two years amid a toxic cocktail of headwinds for confidence, according to a respected forecast which says further interest rate cuts may help lift the mood.

EY ITEM Club, which uses the Treasury’s economic modelling, downgraded expectations for output in both 2025 and 2026 in its latest report.

It warns of a direct hit from Donald Trump‘s trade war and from persistent high inflation in the UK economy.

But the forecast says the biggest impact would come from weaker sentiment among both households and businesses, given the surge in uncertainty and hits to global growth caused by the imposition of tariffs.

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A “baseline” 10% tariff on imports from most countries around the world is in place while UK-produced steel, aluminium and cars are subject to duties of 25%.

Around 16% of all goods shipped abroad head for the United States typically but the study said that weaker demand for exports would likely hit that number.

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It forecast UK growth of 0.8% this year – down from the 1% it expected three months ago – and a figure of 0.9% for 2026.

That last figure represented a downgrade of 0.6 percentage points.

These are not the numbers the Treasury will want to see, coming in even lower than the International Monetary Fund’s downgrades last week, as it leads work on the government’s stated priority of securing economic growth.

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What IMF said about the economy

It has been accused of an own goal through the chancellor’s tax increases on business, which came into effect at the beginning of this month.

At the same time, households are grappling a surge in bills, including those for energy, water and council tax, which are threatening to depress spending power further.

Data on Friday showed a renewed slump in consumer confidence and sharp increases in the number of firms in “critical” financial distress and going to the wall.

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US trade deal ‘possible, not certain’

EY said the weaker global economic backdrop and spiralling levels of uncertainty would weigh on both families and businesses.

It warned the consumer mood remained “cautious” amid the continuing pressures on household budgets, further limiting demand for major purchases.

Anna Anthony, regional managing partner for EY UK & Ireland, said: “There had been signs that the economy was exceeding expectations in the opening months of 2025, but a combination of global trade disruption, uncertainty, and persistent inflation look likely to postpone the UK’s return to more moderate levels of growth.

“Businesses thrive on certainty, so it’s unsurprising that an unpredictable global market is translating into lower levels of business investment over the short term.

“While conditions remain challenging, there are still some grounds for optimism.

“The services-led UK economy is projected to see continued growth this year and gradual interest rate cuts should slowly bolster business and household spending.

“Over time, the unpredictable global landscape may offer opportunities for the UK to position itself as a stable, attractive destination for investment.”

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Chair candidates battle to check in at Premier Inn-owner Whitbread

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Chair candidates battle to check in at Premier Inn-owner Whitbread

Two chairs of FTSE-100 companies are vying to succeed Adam Crozier at the top of Whitbread, the London-listed group behind the Premier Inn hotel chain.

Sky News has learnt that Christine Hodgson, who chairs water company Severn Trent, and Andrew Martin, chair of the testing and inspection group Intertek, are the leading contenders for the Whitbread job.

Mr Crozier, who has chaired the leisure group since 2018, is expected to step down later this year.

The search, which has been taking place for several months, is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, according to one City source.

Ms Hodgson has some experience of the leisure industry, having served on the board of Ladbrokes Coral Group until 2017, while Mr Martin was a senior executive at the contract caterer Compass Group and finance chief at the travel agent First Choice Holidays.

Under Mr Crozier’s stewardship, Whitbread has been radically reshaped, selling its Costa Coffee subsidiary to The Coca-Cola Company in 2019 for nearly £4bn.

The company has also seen off an activist campaign spearheaded by Elliott Advisers, while Mr Crozier orchestrated the appointment of Dominic Paul, its chief executive, following Alison Brittain’s retirement.

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It said last year that it sees potential to grow the network from 86,000 UK bedrooms to 125,000 over the next decade or so.

Mr Crozier is one of Britain’s most seasoned boardroom figures, and now chairs BT Group and Kantar, the market research and data business backed by Bain Capital and WPP Group.

He previously ran the Football Association, ITV and – in between – Royal Mail Group.

On Friday, shares in Whitbread closed at £25.41, giving the company a market capitalisation of about £4.5bn.

Whitbread declined to comment this weekend.

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