The failure of a Mayfair-based mortgage lender is unravelling into a major financial scandal as it emerged that more than £2.5 billion of investor money is at risk and that retail clients may also be exposed to potential losses, The Times reported. Apollo, one of the biggest investment institutions in the world, was the latest to confirm a potential problem on Friday, revealing that its Atlas arm had £400 million invested in the business, Market Financial Solutions. TPG, previously known as Texas Pacific Group, later confirmed it had exposure of £44 million.

Barclays and Jefferies, the American bank, are reportedly among lenders with multimillion pound exposures to a UK mortgage provider that has collapsed amid allegations of fraud, The Times reported. The FTSE 100 bank is said to have an exposure of £600 million to Market Financial Solutions, which entered administration after a High Court judge said “very serious” allegations of fraud needed to be investigated, prompting the latest source of alarm about the private credit industry. Jefferies has a reported exposure of £100 million.

Confidence among firms in the eurozone fell unexpectedly in February amid fresh uncertainties surrounding Europe’s political and economic relationship with the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. The European Commission said Thursday that its Economic Sentiment Indicator—which measures attitudes of businesses across multiple sectors of the economy, as well as consumers—fell to 98.3 in the month, compared with a downwardly revised 99.3 in January. Eurozone confidence started the year on a strong foot, but repeated trade shocks have dragged on sentiment this month.

Many Europeans who do not own their home are not optimistic about buying one, EuroNews.com reported. Across 23 countries, almost half say they will never be able to purchase a home or are not interested in doing so, according to the RE/MAX European Housing Trend Report 2025. The survey, conducted in August 2025 asked a simple question: “When, if ever, do you think you will be able to purchase a property?” On average, 29% of respondents said: “Never – I don’t think I will ever be able to purchase a property”. The share ranged from 13% in Turkey to 44% in Czechia.

Rachel Reeves stands to rake in almost £40bn from interest on student loans before the end of this parliament, official forecasts have revealed, The Telegraph reported. Between this financial year and 2029-30, accrued interest on student loans will total £39.9bn, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. This is counted as a current receipt for the Government, contributing to the £1.2tn of revenues flowing into the Exchequer this year.

There has been lots of talk in recent months about the state of the commercial property industry. Since the pandemic the vacancy rate for offices in Dublin has spiked, yet that tells only a part of the story, according to a commentary in the Irish Times. The latest survey from GeoDirectory, prepared by EY, gives us a snapshot of the market more broadly, and it isn’t a pretty one. The vacancy rate across all commercial properties in the country hit 14.6 per cent at the end of 2025, according to GeoDirectory’s latest report.

French AA gaming developer and accessory manufacturer Nacon said that it has filed for insolvency after its majority shareholder Bigben failed to make a loan repayment, Endgadget.com reported. "To date, the company reports available assets do not allow it to meet its liabilities," Nacon wrote. The objective with insolvency, it said, was to allow "continued operation, protect employees and maintain jobs while renegotiating with its creditors." Nacon is behind the games Styx: Blades of Greed and was set to publish Terminator: Survivors before that title was delayed.

The U.S. is moving to sever a small Swiss bank from access to the U.S. financial system for its alleged support for Iranian and Russian actors, as U.S. and Iranian officials hold indirect talks Thursday in Geneva over Tehran’s nuclear negotiations, the Associated Press reported. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a federal regulation Thursday that, if finalized, would prohibit U.S. institutions from doing business with MBaer Merchant Bank AG, which has no relation to the larger Swiss bank Julius Baer. The bank is accused of funneling over $100 million through the U.S.

Thousands more young people are stuck on the sidelines of the economy despite a rise in the number of under-25-year-olds searching for work, The Telegraph reported. There are now 957,000 people aged 16 to 24 not in employment, education or training (Neet), according to the Office for National Statistics. The total for the three months to December rose from 946,000 during the previous quarter, marking the first increase in six months. More young people moved from being economically inactive into searching for work.

Ukraine will see less economic growth this year due to extensive destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure by Russia over the winter, an international development bank said Thursday, as businesses struggle to keep going into the fifth year of Russia's invasion, the Associated Press reported. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Redevelopment halved its 2026 growth forecast for the country to 2.5% in its current outlook from 5% growth in the previous estimate from September.