Business
Government borrowing for October higher than expected
Rachel ClunBusiness reporter
Getty ImagesUK government borrowing was higher than expected last month, according to the latest official figures.
Borrowing – the difference between public spending and tax income – was £17.4bn in October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, which was above analysts’ forecasts of about £15bn.
The borrowing figures come less than a week before Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her Budget, and she has previously confirmed both tax rises and spending cuts are on the table.
Separate figures from the ONS showed retail sales fell in October, with some retailers saying that shoppers were waiting for this month’s Black Friday deals.
Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said that together the latest government borrowing and retail sales figures painted a “pretty grim picture” of the economy.
Although October’s borrowing figure was above expectations, it was £1.8bn lower than the figure seen in the same month last year.
“While spending on public services and benefits were both up on October last year, this was more than offset by increased receipts from taxes and National Insurance contributions,” said ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner.
Despite the fall, it was still the third-highest October borrowing figure since monthly records began in 1993.
In the financial year to October, borrowing was £116.8bn, which was £9bn more than the same period in 2024. It was the second-highest borrowing for April to October since records began in 1993, after 2020.
James Smith from investment bank ING said the borrowing figures would not be welcomed by the chancellor ahead of her Budget, but said her fiscal rules were about what happens later this decade, rather than the current picture.
“Today’s data is not helpful, it shows that the government is borrowing more than expected, but it doesn’t necessarily change the decisions next week,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
Nick Ridpath, research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, noted government borrowing for the year to date had continued to exceed forecasts from the OBR, “to the tune of around £10bn”.
Mr Ridpath said that while the borrowing figures should not be given too much weight, ahead of the Budget they highlighted the uncertainty around pressures on spending and tax revenues and the “stubbornly high costs of servicing government debt”.
The chancellor needs to find more money in her 26 November Budget to meet her self-imposed rules for government finances, which she has described as “non-negotiable”.
The two main rules are:
- Not to borrow to fund day-to-day public spending by the end of this parliament
- To get government debt falling as a share of national income by the end of this parliament
The BBC understands that newer assessments from the OBR have put the gap in public finances that Reeves needs to fill at £20bn.
Mr Ridpath said: “Operating with minimal fiscal margin for error is risky, and this is one reason why the chancellor might sensibly take steps to increase her so-called ‘fiscal headroom’ at next week’s Budget.”
Chief secretary to the Treasury James Murray said the government aimed to reduce borrowing over the course of the parliament, with £1 of every £10 in taxpayer money currently spent on paying interest on national debt.
“That money should be going to our schools, hospitals, police and armed forces,” he said.
“That is why we are set to deliver the largest primary deficit reduction in both the G7 and G20 over the next five years – to get borrowing costs down.”
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said borrowing so far this financial year had been the highest on record outside the pandemic.
“If Labour had any backbone, they would control spending to avoid tax rises next week,” he said.
The ONS also released data showing that over the month of October retail sales fell by 1.1% – the first monthly drop since May.
“Supermarkets, clothing stores and online retailers all saw slower sales, with feedback from some retailers that consumers were waiting for November’s Black Friday deals,” Mr Fitzner said.
Ruth Gregory at Capital Economics noted the monthly fall in retail sales “isn’t quite as bad as it looks” as it comes off the back of four consecutive months of increases, but also said that consumer confidence had declined, which “suggests that consumers aren’t exactly chipper at the moment”.
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Vellayan Subbiah, a scion of the Murugappa family, has reached a settlement with other promoter branches to realign ownership
Cholamandalam Investment Finance
Vellayan Subbiah, a scion of the Murugappa family, has reached a settlement with other promoter branches to realign ownership across key group companies, according to a report by Moneycontrol.com, citing people familiar with the matter. The agreement is expected to see Subbiah give up stake exposure linked to Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company while consolidating his position in Tube Investments of India and CG Power and Industrial Solutions.
The arrangement, finalised after more than two years of negotiations, forms part of a broader plan by the Murugappa Group to separate ownership of the century-old conglomerate among three promoter factions while ensuring business continuity. Under the settlement, Subbiah is expected to relinquish exposure to Cholamandalam Investment — the group’s flagship lending arm — and instead retain and strengthen his alignment with Tube Investments and CG Power, including taking over or retaining stakes tied to those companies within the extended promoter structure, the report said. Emails sent to Subbiah and the Murugappa Group did not receive a response until publication.
The realignment follows prolonged internal discussions over the division of the diversified business empire, which reported revenue of more than $9 billion in FY23, after five generations of joint ownership through the family holding company Ambadi Investments.
Negotiations had earlier faced hurdles due to significant valuation divergences across group companies. As previously reported by The Economic Times on August 19, 2024, the turnaround of businesses overseen by Subbiah — particularly CG Power, Tube Investments and Cholamandalam Finance — had emerged as a sticking point in share-swap discussions among family factions.
The revival of CG Power proved especially pivotal. Since Tube Investments acquired control in 2020, CG Power has deleveraged, restored profitability and benefited from investor interest in domestic manufacturing, railways, power equipment and electronics supply chains. Its stock has surged since the takeover, making it one of the group’s most valuable listed assets. Tube Investments has also diversified beyond its legacy engineering base into green mobility, contract manufacturing and specialised industrial segments, strengthening its market position.
Cholamandalam Investment, meanwhile, has grown into one of India’s most valuable non-bank lenders, with a market capitalisation exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore. The uneven appreciation in these businesses complicated efforts to carve out three equal promoter blocs, with one faction seeking revisions to earlier share-swap assumptions and another resisting reopening agreed terms, people cited by Moneycontrol.com said.
Promoter ownership across Murugappa companies is largely routed through holding vehicles rather than direct individual shareholdings, but the concentration of value highlights why these firms were central to negotiations. The promoter group’s roughly 51–52 percent stake in Cholamandalam Investment is estimated to be worth about Rs 55,000–60,000 crore at current market levels. In Tube Investments, promoter ownership of around 45–46 percent translates into holdings valued at approximately Rs 20,000–22,000 crore. Through Tube Investments’ controlling position in CG Power, the promoter group effectively holds about 58–59 percent of that company, valued at roughly Rs 45,000–50,000 crore.
Beyond these, the family controls about 56–57 percent in Coromandel International, worth around Rs 18,000–20,000 crore; 42–43 percent in Carborundum Universal, valued near Rs 9,000–10,000 crore; and 44–45 percent in EID Parry, worth roughly Rs 3,500–4,000 crore. Tube Investments also indirectly controls about 70 percent of Shanti Gears, valued at approximately Rs 2,500–3,000 crore.
The final arrangement appears to align ownership more closely with operational leadership. Subbiah, a fourth-generation member of the family, is widely credited within the group for steering the revival of CG Power and expanding Tube Investments into new manufacturing and mobility segments, making these businesses natural anchors for his promoter bloc under the new structure.
The Murugappa Group, which comprises nearly 30 companies across fertilisers, engineering, financial services, abrasives, sugar and mobility solutions, operates under a long-standing governance charter that separates ownership from management, the Moneycontrol.com report noted.
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February 26, 2026, 10:51 IST
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RBI has summoned senior officials of Yes Bank following a major data breach involving the Yes Bank–BookMyForex multi-currency forex card
Reserve Bank of India headquarters in Mumbai.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has summoned senior officials of Yes Bank following a major data breach involving the Yes Bank–BookMyForex multi-currency forex card, two people aware of the development told The Economic Times (ET).
According to the report, card details and CVV numbers of several users were allegedly compromised. The central bank has sought a detailed explanation from the bank on how its systems may have been breached and the sequence of events that led to the exposure of sensitive customer data.
“The RBI has sought a comprehensive briefing from Yes Bank’s senior management on the root cause of the breach, the timeline of events, and the adequacy of the bank’s cybersecurity framework,” one of the persons cited by ET said. “The regulator wants clarity on how sensitive card data, including CVV numbers, may have been exposed and what immediate containment measures have been implemented.”
Yes Bank declined to comment on the RBI’s queries but said an internal investigation had identified fraudulent transactions involving 15 merchants in a Latin American country on February 24. Transactions worth Rs 2.54 crore were approved across 5,000 customers, while 688 unauthorised attempts amounting to around Rs 90 lakh were blocked. The bank said it is working with the card network to initiate chargebacks and ensure that affected customers do not face financial losses.
Separately, BookMyForex said it does not store customers’ sensitive card information and that its systems were neither breached nor compromised during the period in question.
The RBI has also sought details on how sensitive card data—particularly CVVs—was stored and protected, whether encryption and prescribed security protocols were followed, and why existing cyber controls failed to prevent the breach. In addition, the regulator is reviewing the timeline of detection and reporting, the robustness of third-party risk management and oversight, the number of customers impacted, and the steps taken to block cards, prevent misuse and mitigate losses. It has also asked for clarity on internal accountability, supervisory lapses and remedial measures to prevent a recurrence, ET reported.
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February 26, 2026, 07:53 IST
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