‘Inflection point’: Challenger banks loan growth halved in 2025 May 5, 2026 Challenger banks have reached an “inflection point” after loan growth across the industry halved in the last year, a fresh report has warned. New analysis from Big Four firm EY showed lending growth across UK challenger, specialist and digital banks slowed to 4.5 per cent in 2025, down from 8.9 per cent. This came as [...]
City law firms clamp down on the equity cookie jar April 30, 2026 Law firms are tightening access to equity partnerships to protect profits, increasingly reserving the equity pool for top performers, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. As the Big Four giants dominate the headlines with internal changes, the firms are seeking to regain control of their expanded equity pools amid profitability problems. These giants are looking to mirror what [...]
General counsel ‘evolving from traditional legal gatekeepers’, says KPMG’s legal arm April 29, 2026 General counsel responsibilities are evolving beyond just providing legal oversight as regulations “become more complex and demanding”, according to a new report from the Big four giant KPMG’s Law arm. A whopping 75 per cent of the general counsels surveyed by the firm reported to be “frequently providing advice on issues outside of their legal [...]
Private equity investment fuels major overhaul of Grant Thornton’s associate scheme April 29, 2026 Professional services giant Grant Thornton is launching a “brand new associate programme” for its 2027 cohort of associates, CityAM can reveal, as private equity investment from Cinven sets the firm’s ambition for significant growth. The firm voted in favour of an investment from private equity firm Cinven in 2024. Speaking to CityAM, Abigail [...]
Big Four giant EY set to bolster AI recruitment April 28, 2026 Big Four giant EY is moving to hire a new team of senior AI recruits across the UK and Ireland to work directly with clients, in a push to meet “growing demand” to use tech across the board. EY said the new hires, known as ‘forward deployed engineers’, will be working within client teams at [...]
Golden partnership perks? Not anymore, say the Big Four April 27, 2026 As the Big Four giants grapple with profitability challenges, the traditional partnership model is undergoing significant change to prevent the profit pool from being diluted. The traditional dream at professional services firms – joining, working hard and climbing the ladder to partnership within an LLP structure – now looks very different at the Big Four [...]
Big Four carnage as KPMG swings the jobs axe on both sides of the Pond April 24, 2026 On the back of KPMG taking the shears to its partners’ headcount in the UK, around 140 audit partners across the Atlantic are now set to lose their jobs. The Big Four firm is set to cut about 10 per cent of its 1,400 US audit partners to reduce its bloated headcount. The move comes [...]
Regulator fines PwC £95m over Chinese Evergrande audit April 23, 2026 The Hong Kong regulator fined PwC Hong Kong a landmark HK$1bn (£95m) for its role as auditor for the now-liquidated property giant, China Evergrande Group. Back in Janaury 2023, PwC resigned as Evergrande’s auditor following a series of disagreements with the heavily-indebted property developer over its audit of the firm’s 2021 accounts. This came after [...]
PwC consulting overhaul reveals AI reckoning for the Big Four April 16, 2026 The influx of AI is putting the Big Four’s structures under strain, and cracks are beginning to appear in their consultancy divisions, argues senior reporter Maria Ward-Brennan. The industry is facing a storm of problems, including over-recruitment during the pandemic, low staff attrition rates due to economic issues, and a drop in fees as the [...]
PwC moves to unify global services as AI reshapes consulting sector April 14, 2026 Big Four firm PwC is drawing up a blueprint to standardise its consultancy services across its global business, as the sector faces mounting pressure from the rapid rise of AI. As businesses continue to invest in AI, the cracks in what this will mean for broader businesses are starting to show, with layoffs being blamed [...]