Close Brothers stock surges as UK car finance redress estimate relieves marketClose Brothers' response to UK car finance compensation schemeBy Kirstin Ridley and Yamini KaliaMarket reaction and share performanceLONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Shares in Close Brothers surged 23% on Wednesday after the British specialist lender estimated its hit from the market regulator's 9.1 billion pound ($12 billion) bill for mis-sold motor finance would be broadly in line with existing provisions. Close Brothers, whose stock tumbled last month after a short-seller report that it had vastly undervalued the effect of the motorist compensation scheme, assessed its costs at around 320 million pounds, only about 26 million pounds higher than initially forecast. Major banks and individual lender exposureBanks including Lloyds, Santander, Barclays and the finance arms of vehicle manufacturers have collectively set aside billions of pounds for compensation. South Africa's FirstRand on Tuesday hiked its provisions for its share of the redress package by 510 million pounds to 750 million and vowed to put Aldermore, its British challenger bank, up for sale. In March, Close Brothers said it would cut a fifth of its workforce by 2027 as it grapples with the costs of one of Britain's most expensive financial mis-selling scandals.

Source: The Guardian April 08, 2026 06:34 UTC