Close Brothers Group (CBG.L) on Thursday reported that it delivered a solid performance in the third quarter, and that it remains on track to deliver fiscal 2026 in line with guidance.
In its third-quarter trading statement, the specialist lender reported annualised year-to-date net interest margin of 7.0 percent, compared to 7.1 percent in the first half of its fiscal 2026. Close Brothers took a 30-million-pound charge in the quarter after raising its provision for motor finance commissions to 320 million pounds, following Britain's Financial Conduct Authority policy statement in March.
Loan book rose 1 percent to 9.3 billion pounds in the three months to April 30, from 9.2 billion pounds at end-January. On an underlying basis, it was up 2 percent. Looking ahead to fiscal 2026, the firm now expects group (central functions) operating loss at the lower end of the 45 million to 50 million-pound guidance range. Close Brothers continues to expect net interest margin to be slightly lower than 7 percent for 2026, reflecting loan book mix impacts. It also expects to exceed its target of 25 million pounds of annualised savings by the end of its financial year, after accelerating cost actions into the current year. Adjusted operating expenses are now expected to be below its previous guidance of 450 million pounds. On the LSE, shares of Close Brothers were losing 0.83 percent, changing hands at 456.20 pence.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Business News
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.