UK companies and regulators face pressure from US markets and politics

Several major UK-based companies and financial institutions are making moves that involve the United States, while also dealing with new regulatory pressures at home. Apple and Google have agreed to change their app store rules to comply with UK competition regulations. At the same time, UK firms like EG Group are planning US stock listings, Barclays is focusing on US markets to increase profits, and Starling Bank is looking to expand into the US by selling its software.

Separately, some UK financial leaders are concerned about potential political risks from the US. Bank executives are reportedly working to prevent US regulators from gaining oversight of a British financial supervisor, and one headline mentions a discussion about a UK bank threatening the government over a tax, in a conversation linked to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.