This is a list of banks operating in the United Kingdom.
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom.
British banking has been highly consolidated since the early 20th century. Unlike some other major economies, the UK does not have a major stratum of independent local banks. The number of independent banks shrank further during 2008: Northern Rock was nationalised by the UK Government (and is now owned by Virgin Money), followed by Bradford & Bingley; Alliance & Leicester was acquired by Santander, who merged it into Santander UK. On 18 September 2008, Lloyds TSB plc entered into a confirmed agreement to take over HBOS plc, which took effect on 19 January 2009, when HBOS was acquired and folded into Lloyds Banking Group.[1] [2] [3]
The retail and commercial banking markets are dominated by HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group and Spanish-owned Santander UK (most of these companies operate more than one banking brand in the UK).
| Bank | Headquarters | data-sort-type="number" scope="col" width=150px | Market value (£bn) As of 31 May 2019[4] | Total assets (£bn) As of 31 December 2018[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSBC Holdings | London, England | 131 | 1,998 | |
| Lloyds Banking Group | London, England | 40 | 794 | |
| NatWest Group | Edinburgh, Scotland | 26.2 | 691 | |
| Barclays | London, England | 25 | 873 |
A full list of businesses considered banks by the Prudential Regulation Authority are listed in the table below. The list is based on the definition of 'bank' in the glossary of the PRA Handbook.[6]
There is also a government-run savings bank called National Savings and Investments.
These banks provide retail services to the general public. Retail banks are usually known as High street banks as they traditionally had multiple branch locations in the cities and towns across the UK. However 40% of branches closed between 2012 and 2022 .[8] Four British retail banks have never had a physical branch presence.
The retail and commercial banking markets are dominated by five big banks. HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group and Spanish-owned Santander UK who operate more than one banking brand in the UK.
| Bank | Year Est. | Headquarters | Total assets (£bn) | Staff | Branches in UK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atom Bank | 2013 | Durham, England | 2.8[9] | 357[10] | Online only | |
| Bank of Ireland UK | 1783 | London, England | 1,700 | |||
| Barclays | 1690 | London, England | 1,477 | 100,000 | 347 | |
| HSBC UK | 1865 | London, England | 2,975 | 220,861 | 327 | |
| Danske Bank UK | 1824 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 1400 | 24 | ||
| Lloyds Banking Group† | 2009 | Edinburgh, Scotland, Registered office London, England, Operational headquarters | 794 | 63,000 | 947 | |
| Metro Bank | 2010 | London, England | 22.2 | 3,000 | 76 | |
| Monzo | 2015 | London, England | 11.2[11] | 3,736 | Online only | |
| NatWest Group†† | 1968 | Edinburgh, Scotland | 691.0 | 61,500 | 523 | |
| Santander UK | 2010 | London, England | 275.4 | 19,500 | 444 | |
| Starling Bank | 2014 | London, England | 14.7[12] | 3,500 | Online only | |
| Tandem Bank | 2015 | London, England | 0.5[13] | Online only | ||
| The Co-operative Bank | 1872 | Manchester, England | 25.5[14] | 3,350 | 77 | |
| TSB Bank | 1810 (reestablished 2013) | Edinburgh, Scotland | 5,426 | 212 | ||
| 2015 | Glasgow, Scotland | 91.7 | 7,166 | 91 |
There are a number of other retail banking businesses owned by retailers including:
The other main class of consumer financial service organisation in the United Kingdom is the building society. The building society sector has become much smaller with fewer building societies. This was caused, firstly, a number of building societies demutualising in the 1980s and 1990s and subsequently, taken over by banks. Secondly, there has been ongoing consolidation via mergers between societies.
There are 42 building societies in the UK as of 2021 which provide retail banking services to the general public. The five largest as of October 2020 are:
| Name | Year Est. | Headquarters | Total Assets (£bn) | Employees | Branches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | 1846 | Swindon, England, UK | 208[15] | 18,333 | 606 | |
| Coventry Building Society | 1884 | Coventry, England, UK | 49 | 2,700 | 89 | |
| Yorkshire Building Society (also own Chelsea Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, Accord Mortgages and Egg) | 1864 | Bradford, West Yorkshire, England | 39.6 | 3,300 | 231 | |
| Skipton Building Society | 1853 | Skipton, England | 17.5 | 1,772 | 98 | |
| Leeds Building Society | 1875 | Leeds, England | 20.8 | 1,426 | 65 |