Bloomberg Just 20 banks have applied for a license to operate in the European Union in time to receive approval before Britain leaves the bloc. The European Central Bank has talked with 50 financial companies exploring options to retain the so-called passport that grants them access to one of the world’s largest economies, said Pentti Hakkarainen, a member of its …

Bloomberg The UK Serious Fraud Office has dropped a criminal investigation into Lloyds Banking Group Plc and its former traders over Libor rigging, according to a newspaper report. Investigators concluded there was insufficient evidence to take the matter further in respect of former traders and the bank, The Times reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The SFO has …

Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc is facing pilot strikes in its Irish home market next week, in what may become the most significant confrontation between Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier and organized labor to date. A poll of Ryanair cockpit crew produced a 94 to 1 vote in favour of industrial action including strikes, a spokesman for the Irish Air Line Pilots’ …