As the debate over how to carry out Brexit intensifies, the City of London finds itself in the firing line, the Wall Street Journal reported today. To some hard-line Brexiters, repeated warnings from bankers about the costs of quitting the European single market and losing passporting rights—which allow U.K.-based firms to sell financial services anywhere in the European Union—smack of special pleading. Passporting is a red herring, they say, because the U.K.

At the end of May 2016 a total of £2.2 billion was owed to banks – a rise of £177 million on the previous year, and the seventh year in a row that debt levels have increased, The Courier reported. In addition to this, farms have an estimated £1.4 billion of liabilities from hire purchases, lease arrangements and money borrowed from family members and other sources, according to Scotland’s Chief Statistician. The figures, which show bank farm debt is the highest since records began in 1972, come after problems with a new IT system caused delays getting European subsidies to farmers.

Three former Tesco executives have been charged with fraud in connection with an accounting scandal that rocked the British supermarket giant two years ago, investigators said on Friday, the International New York Times reported. The charges stem from a criminal investigation dating to October 2014, after the company announced that it had overstated its first-half profit by 263 million pounds, about $420 million at the time, and that it had suspended several executives for accounting irregularities.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has left open the possibility of further cuts in UK interest rates this autumn despite acknowledging the risk of recession had receded in the past month, the Financial Times reported. Mr Carney took credit for the bounce in August’s business and consumer surveys, telling MPs during a parliamentary hearing that part of the recovery in sentiment was “because the bank took timely, comprehensive and concrete action and that action has had an impact”.

Top British bankers will tell Chancellor Philip Hammond on Wednesday to give them a clearer idea of what the country's divorce from the European Union will mean for them when they hold their first meeting since the Brexit vote. Hammond is to meet with executives from major banks and insurers, including Barclays, HSBC, Standard Life Santander UK, the British arm of Spain's Banco Santander, according to sources.

Since Britain’s vote in June to quit the European Union, its government has promised repeatedly to make a success of withdrawal, known as Brexit, the International New York Times reported. More than two months later, however, it still cannot say how. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May called cabinet ministers to a brainstorming session about the withdrawal, pledging to examine “the next steps” for Britain and to identify “opportunities that are now open to us as we forge a new role” in the world.

Mortgage lending in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in 18 months and consumer borrowing has slowed down, suggesting consumers are turning away from large purchases after the Brexit vote, the Financial Times reported. The comprehensive official figures from the Bank of England for July were worse than economists expected and also showed that non-financial companies borrowed less in July than the average of the previous six months. The figures will intensify arguments over the short-term economic effects of the vote for Brexit.

Proposals to toughen penalties for tax evasion have been published, as the authorities prepare to receive a big tranche of new data on offshore accounts, the Financial Times reported. The government is proposing new legislation requiring taxpayers with outstanding offshore tax liabilities to come forward by September 2018, after which they will be subject to a new set of sanctions for “failing to correct”. The move is part of a broader toughening of sanctions for all those involved in offshore tax evasion.

Mortgage approvals in the UK slumped to a 1½-year low in the month after the Brexit vote, according to a high street banking report. Loans for house purchases slipped 5 per cent to an 18-month low of 37,662 in July, down from 39,763 in June, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the Irish Times reported. The setback comes amid a good week for the property sector, with housebuilder Persimmon shrugging off uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum result to post a 19 per cent rise in pre-tax profits.

The former head of Royal Bank of Scotland said in 2009 it could take up to five years to recover from the biggest bank bailout in British history, the Irish Times reported. At the time, this seemed a formidable period for British taxpayers to wait before receiving some of their money back. But nearly eight years on, and under a new chief executive, RBS is still some way off from returning to private ownership. The bank reported a £2 billion loss for the first half of this year, putting it on track for its ninth successive annual loss.