How many banks have left the UK?
More than 440 firms in banking and finance have moved or are moving part of their business, staff, assets or legal entities from the UK to the EU. While this is higher than previous estimates, it underestimates the real picture – and the potential longer-term impact.
Monetary Financial Institutions (MFI) include all banks and building societies that have permission to accept deposits in the United Kingdom (UK). As of March 2023, there were a total of 353 MFI's operating in the UK, 129 of which were UK headquartered (parent company).
- Manchester Savings Bank.
- Martins Bank.
- Mercantile Bank of India, London and China.
- Mercury Provident.
- Metropolitan Bank (of England and Wales)
- Midland Bank.
Building societies and banks are closing their doors and disappearing from the high street as more customers move to online services and mobile banking to manage their money (and as a result, use physical branches less and less). Banks are also looking for ways to cut costs, and closing branches is an easy option.
In 2023 two prominent banks, which both had UK subsidiaries, Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse failed.
This report highlights the damage that Brexit has already done to the City of London. More than 440 firms in banking and finance have moved or are moving part of their business, staff, assets or legal entities from the UK to the EU.
The top five largest banks are HSBC Holdings, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Barclays, and Standard Chartered. This handful of banks has a monopoly on services to these enterprises.
The UK's largest banks are no longer “too big to fail” and could foot the bill for their own failures, the Bank of England has said, but it found shortcomings at three banks including HSBC and Lloyds.
To date, 95 branches have been closed this year, and 15 more are to shutter by the end of the year. The remaining locations are planned to close in 2024, meaning that the trend, common among nearly all of the big banks of shutting local branches will continue.
| Bank NameBank | CityCity | Closing DateClosing |
|---|---|---|
| Heartland Tri-State Bank | Elkhart | July 28, 2023 |
| First Republic Bank | San Francisco | May 1, 2023 |
| Signature Bank | New York | March 12, 2023 |
| Silicon Valley Bank | Santa Clara | March 10, 2023 |
Are UK banks safe at the moment?
As a general rule, your savings are pretty safe in the UK. This is due to the extensive financial regulations in place to ensure banks and financial institutions can withstand situations such as those in the news right now. In addition, we have the additional protection of the FSCS (up to the limits I just mentioned).
UK banks are strong enough to support households and businesses. The UK banking sector is resilient to an economic downturn much worse than the one currently expected. That reflects the large financial buffers they have built up since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Cash you put into UK banks or building societies – that are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority – is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS deposit protection limit is £85,000 per authorised firm.
Overall, Bank of America appears to be in a relatively healthy financial position and is not currently in imminent danger of collapse. However, as with any financial institution, there are always risks involved, and customers and investors should always monitor the bank's financial health and risk profile.
The most popular banks in the U.S. are regional banks like Truist Financial, TD Bank and First National of Omaha. The worst banks are Wells Fargo and Citibank. Wells Fargo is the worst bank overall, with a high percentage of unresolved complaints and loss of Better Business Bureau accreditation.
City flitters: 7,000 jobs leave London's prized banking sector after Brexit | Euronews.
According to new figures from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), there are around 1.1 million adults in the UK currently living their lives "unbanked". The regulator's newly released Financial Lives 2022 report says this figure makes up 2.1% of the country's adult population.
In the wake of Brexit, some of the world's biggest banks have been under pressure to move traders out of the UK and into continental Europe. While Italian banks such as UniCredit SpA and Mediobanca SpA were the first to repatriate employees to Milan, their international counterparts are now following suit.
KfW continues to be the "World's safest bank". For the eighth time in a row, the US finance magazine Global Finance declared KfW the “World's Safest Bank”.
What bank does the Queen use?
| The Strand headquarters of Coutts in November 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary; Private unlimited company |
| Industry | Private banking and wealth management |
| Founded | May 1692 |
| Headquarters | 440 Strand London, WC2 United Kingdom |
| Brand | Overall satisfaction | Customers who'd recommend |
|---|---|---|
| Lloyds Bank | ★★★★★ | 93% |
| Barclays | ★★★★★ | 90% |
| Virgin Money | ★★★★★ | 88% |
| Halifax | ★★★★★ | 86% |
FSCS will pay compensation within seven working days of a bank or building society failing. You don't need to do anything, FSCS will compensate you automatically. More complex cases, including temporary high balance claims, will take longer and you'll need to contact us to request an application form.
The UK's regulatory and institutional framework has supported UK financial stability through recent stresses in parts of the global banking system, underlining the importance of maintaining robust macroprudential, regulatory and supervisory standards.
