# List of banks in the United Kingdom

This is a list of banks operating in the United Kingdom.

## Central bank

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom.

## The Big Four

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 (HBOS plc included Halifax Bank and The Bank of Scotland), which took effect on 19 January 2009, when HBOS was acquired and folded into Lloyds Banking Group.
The retail and commercial banking markets are dominated by HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group in addition to Spanish-owned Santander UK which some people argue should be a part of the "Big 4" making it the big 5, however its Spanish origins hinder its credibility as a British bank despite its ability to act autonomously and independently from the Spanish bank itself as it is "managed by its own local team and is responsible solely for its performance away from its Spanish owners" (most of these companies operate more than one banking brand in the UK). As well as this, the Nationwide Building Society (commonly referred to as "Nationwide"), and Standard Chartered both make compelling arguments to be the fifth and sixth members of the elite group with both banks even surpassing one or two of the "Big 4" Banks in some areas of performance. In addition to this the Bank of England is also an extremely high performer in global banking but its private and state-run status keeps it out of the "Big 4" as the group is solely reserved for private companies, all of which are listed on the London Stock Exchange as of 2024.
The largest of the "Big 4" banks in every relevant metric is HSBC Holding (the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) which, despite its name, is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, with historical links to business in East Asia. It is the largest bank in Europe and the 7th largest in the world by total AUM (assets under management) and 9th largest in the world by market cap.
| Bank | Headquarters | Market cap ($bn) | Total assets ($bn) | Global rank by total assets |
| Global rank by total assets ||
| Barclays | London, England | 55.08 | 2,049.77 | 13th |
| HSBC Holdings | London, England | 183.48 | 3,038.80 | 7th |
| Lloyds Banking Group (not including HBOS) | London, England | 49.02 | 1,122.76 | 35th |
| NatWest Group | Edinburgh, Scotland | 47.60 | 925.89 | 42th |
* ↑ Includes Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland (including Halifax, Birmingham Midshires and Intelligent Finance).
* ↑ Includes NatWest, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank. The UK government owns a stake of 5.99% of NatWest Group's ordinary shares, but the bank remains nominally independent of government

## Retail banks

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 . 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 established | Headquarters | Total assets (£bn) | Staff | Branches in UK |
| Atom Bank | 2013 | Durham, England | 2.8 | 357 | Online only |
| Bank of Ireland UK | 1783 | London, England | | 1,700 | |
| Barclays | 1690 | London, England | 1,477 | 100,000 | 347 |
| The Co-operative Bank | 1872 | Manchester, England | 25.5 | 3,350 | 50 |
| Danske Bank UK | 1824 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | | 1,400 | 24 |
| HSBC UK | 1865 | London, England | 2,975 | 220,861 | 327 |
| Lloyds Banking Group | 2009 | Edinburgh, Scotland: registered office London, England: operational headquarters | 794 | 63,000 | 757 |
| Metro Bank | 2010 | London, England | 22.2 | 3,000 | 76 |
| Monzo | 2015 | London, England | 11.2 | 3,736 | Online only |
| NatWest Group | 1968 | Edinburgh, Scotland | 691.0 | 61,500 | 470 |
| Santander UK | 2010 | London, England | 275.4 | 19,500 | 444 |
| Starling Bank | 2014 | London, England | 14.7 | 3,500 | Online only |
| Tandem Bank | 2015 | London, England | 0.5 | | Online only |
| TSB Bank | 1810 (re-established 2013) | Edinburgh, Scotland | 47.7 | 5,426 | 212 |
| Virgin Money UK | 2015 | Glasgow, Scotland | 91.7 | 7,166 | 91 |

### Retail banks owned by retailers

There are a number of other retail banking businesses owned by retailers including:
* Post Office Money, the trading name used by Post Office Ltd for its branded financial products, most of which are provided by Bank of Ireland UK.
* Sainsbury's Bank, owned by British supermarket company Sainsbury's.

#### Former

* Tesco Bank, which was acquired by Barclays on 1 November 2024 from Tesco.
* Harrods Bank, which was acquired by Tandem Money Limited on 11 January 2018.

## Building societies in the UK

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 Building Society | 1846 | Swindon, England | 272 | 18,333 | 606 |
| Coventry Building Society | 1884 | Coventry, England | 62 | 2,700 | 89 |
| Yorkshire Building Society (also own Chelsea Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, Accord Mortgages and Egg) | 1864 | Bradford, 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 |

## UK banking brands owned by foreign banks

* Allied Irish Bank (GB) and First Trust Bank, owned by AIB Group of the Republic of Ireland
* Al Rayan Bank, owned by Masraf Al Rayan of Qatar
* Axis Bank UK, owned by Axis Bank of India
* Bank of Ceylon (UK), owned by Bank of Ceylon of Sri Lanka
* Bank of Baroda (UK), owned by Bank of Baroda of India
* Bank of China (UK), owned by Bank of China
* Bank of India (UK), owned by Bank of India
* Bank Sepah International plc, owned by Bank Sepah of Iran
* FCMB Bank (UK) Limited, owned by First City Monument Bank of Nigeria
* Zenith Bank (UK), owned by Zenith Bank of Nigeria
* Bank of Ireland UK, owned by Bank of Ireland of the Republic of Ireland; one of the leading banks in Northern Ireland, and present in Great Britain to a lesser extent
* Citibank (UK), owned by Citigroup of the United States
* ICBC (London) plc, by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
* ICICI Bank (UK), owned by ICICI Bank of India
* Danske Bank (formerly Northern Bank), owned by Danske Bank of Denmark
* Habib Bank UK, owned by Habib Bank of Pakistan
* Punjab National Bank (International), owned by Punjab National Bank of India
* RCI Bank UK, owned by RCI Banque SA
* Santander UK (formerly Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley), owned by Santander Group of Spain
* SEB (UK), owned by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Sweden
* State Bank of India (UK), owned by State Bank of India
* Svenska Handelsbanken, UK Branch
* The Bank of East Asia, UK Branch
* TSB Bank, part of Sabadell Group, headquartered in Spain
* Union Bank of India (UK) Ltd, owned by Union Bank of India of India
* United Bank UK, owned by United Bank Limited of Pakistan

## Banks incorporated in the UK

A full list of businesses considered banks by the Prudential Regulation Authority is shown in the table below. The list is based on the definition of "bank" in the glossary of the PRA Handbook.
| Name of bank | Parent company | Location of headquarters (Parent where applicable) |
| ABC International Bank plc | Arab Banking Corporation | Bahrain |
| Afin Bank Limited | WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc | Sierra Leone |
| The Access Bank UK Limited | Access Bank Group | Nigeria |
| Ahli United Bank (UK) plc | Ahli United Bank | Bahrain |
| AIB Group (UK) plc | Allied Irish Banks | Republic of Ireland |
| Al Rayan Bank plc | Masraf Al Rayan | Qatar |
| Aldermore Bank plc | FirstRand | South Africa |
| Allica Bank | Independently run | England |
| Alpha Bank London Limited | Alpha Bank | Greece |
| Arbuthnot Latham & Co Limited | Arbuthnot Banking Group | England |
| Atom Bank plc | Independently run | England |
| Axis Bank UK Limited | Axis Bank | India |
| Bank Mandiri (Europe) Limited | Bank Mandiri | Indonesia |
| Bank of Africa United Kingdom Plc | BMCE Bank International | England |
| Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Limited | Bank of America | United States of America |
| Bank of Baroda (UK) Ltd | Bank of Baroda | India |
| Bank of Beirut (UK) Ltd | Bank of Beirut | Lebanon |
| Bank of Ceylon (UK) Ltd | Bank of Ceylon | Sri Lanka |
| Bank of China (UK) Ltd | Bank of China | China |
| Bank of Communications (UK) Limited | Bank of Communications | China |
| Bank of Cyprus UK Limited | Bank of Cyprus | Cyprus |
| Bank of India UK | Bank of India | India |
| Bank of Ireland (UK) Plc | Bank of Ireland | Republic of Ireland |
| Bank of London, The | Independently run | United Kingdom |
| Bank of London and The Middle East plc | Independently run | England |
| The Bank of New York Mellon (International) Limited | The Bank of New York Mellon | United States of America |
| Bank of Scotland plc | Lloyds Banking Group | Scotland |
| Bank of the Philippine Islands (Europe) plc | Bank of the Philippine Islands | Philippines |
| Bank Saderat plc | Bank Saderat Iran | Iran |
| Bank Sepah International plc | Bank Sepah | Iran |
| Barclays Bank plc | Barclays | England |
| Barclays Bank UK plc | Barclays | |
| iFAST Global Bank | iFAST | Singapore |
| Birmingham Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| British Arab Commercial Bank plc | British Arab Commercial Bank | England |
| Brown Shipley & Co Limited | KBL European Private Bankers | Luxembourg |
| C. Hoare & Co | Independently run | England |
| CAF Bank Ltd | Independently run | England |
| Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited | 50% by Trinity Hall, a Cambridge University college, and 50% by Cambridgeshire Local Government Pension Scheme | England |
| Castle Trust Capital PLC | J.C. Flowers & Co. | United States of America |
| Cater Allen Limited | Santander Group | Spain |
| Charity Bank Limited, The | Independently run | England |
| Charter Court Financial Services Limited | One Savings Bank | England |
| Citibank (UK) | Citigroup | United States of America |
| ClearBank Ltd | Independently run | England |
| Close Brothers Limited | Close Brothers Group | England |
| Clydesdale Bank plc | Virgin Money UK plc | England |
| The Co-operative Bank plc | Independently run | England |
| Coutts & Company | NatWest Group | Scotland |
| Credit Suisse (UK) Limited | Credit Suisse | Switzerland |
| Credit Suisse International | Credit Suisse | Switzerland |
| Crown Agents Bank Limited | Helios Investment Partners | England |
| Cynergy Bank Plc | Independently run | England |
| DB UK Bank Limited | Deutsche Bank | Germany |
| DF Capital Bank Limited | Distribution Finance Capital Holdings plc | England |
| EFG Private Bank Limited | EFG International | Switzerland |
| Europe Arab Bank plc | Arab Bank | Jordan |
| FCE Bank plc | Ford Motor Credit Company | United States of America |
| FCMB Bank (UK) Limited | First City Monument Bank | Nigeria |
| FidBank UK Limited | Fidelity Bank Nigeria | Nigeria |
| FirstBank UK Limited | First Bank of Nigeria | Nigeria |
| Gatehouse Bank plc | Independently run | England |
| GB Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| Ghana International Bank plc | Independently run | England |
| Goldman Sachs International Bank | Goldman Sachs | United States of America |
| Griffin | Independently run | England |
| Guaranty Trust Bank (UK) Limited | Guaranty Trust Bank | Nigeria |
| Gulf International Bank (UK) Limited | Gulf International Bank | Bahrain |
| Habib Bank Zurich Plc | Habib Bank AG Zurich | Switzerland |
| Habibsons Bank Limited | Habib Allied Holding Ltd | Pakistan |
| Hampden & Co Plc | Independently run | Scotland |
| HBL Bank UK | Habib Bank Limited | Pakistan |
| Hampshire Trust Bank Plc | Independently run | England |
| Handelsbanken plc | Handelsbanken | Sweden |
| Havin Bank Ltd | Independently run | England |
| HSBC Bank Plc | HSBC | England |
| HSBC Innovation Bank Limited | HSBC UK | England |
| HSBC Private Bank (UK) Limited | HSBC | England |
| HSBC Trust Company (UK) Ltd | HSBC | England |
| ICBC (London) plc | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China | China |
| ICBC Standard Bank Plc | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China | China |
| ICICI Bank UK Plc | ICICI Bank | India |
| IFAST GLOBAL BANK LIMITED | iFAST Corporation Ltd. | Singapore |
| Investec Bank PLC | Investec | South Africa |
| Itau BBA International PLC | Itaú Unibanco | Brazil |
| J.P. Morgan Europe Limited | J.P. Morgan | England |
| J.P. Morgan Securities plc | J.P. Morgan | England |
| JN Bank UK Ltd | The Jamaica National Group | Jamaica |
| Jordan International Bank Plc | The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance | Jordan |
| Julian Hodge Bank Limited | Independently run | Wales |
| KEB Hana Bank | KEB Hana Bank | South Korea |
| Kexim Bank (UK) Ltd | Export–Import Bank of Korea | South Korea |
| Kingdom Bank Ltd | Assemblies of God Property Trust | England |
| Kroo Bank Ltd | Independently run | England |
| SG Kleinwort Hambros Bank Limited | Société Générale | France |
| LHV Bank Limited | LHV Group | Estonia |
| Lloyds Bank Plc | Lloyds Banking Group | England |
| Marks & Spencer Financial Services Plc | HSBC Bank plc | England |
| Melli Bank plc | Bank Melli Iran | Iran |
| Methodist Chapel Aid Limited | Independently run | England |
| Metro Bank PLC | Independently run | England |
| Mizuho International Plc | Mizuho Financial Group | Japan |
| Monument Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| Monzo Bank Ltd | Independently run | England |
| Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited | Morgan Stanley | United States of America |
| National Bank of Egypt (UK) Limited | National Bank of Egypt | Egypt |
| National Bank of Kuwait (International) Plc | National Bank of Kuwait | Kuwait |
| National Westminster Bank Plc | NatWest Group | England |
| NatWest Markets Plc | NatWest Group | England |
| Nomura Bank International Plc | Nomura Group | Japan |
| Northern Bank Limited | Danske Bank | Denmark |
| OakNorth Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| OneSavings Bank Plc | OneSavings Bank | England |
| Oxbury Bank PLC | Independently run | England |
| Paragon Bank Plc | Paragon Banking Group | England |
| Perenna Bank Plc | Independently run | England |
| Persia International Bank Plc | Bank Mellat | Iran |
| Philippine National Bank (Europe) Plc | Philippine National Bank | Philippines |
| Punjab National Bank (International) Limited | Punjab National Bank | India |
| QIB (UK) Plc | Qatar Islamic Bank | Qatar |
| Rathbones Investment Management Limited | Independently run | England |
| RBC Europe Limited | RBC Capital Markets | Canada |
| RCI Bank UK | RCI Banque SA | France |
| Recognise Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| Redwood Bank Limited | Redwood Financial Partners Ltd (RFPL) | England |
| Reliance Bank Ltd | Independently run | England |
| Revolut NewCo UK Ltd | Revolut | England |
| Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, The | NatWest Group | Scotland |
| Sainsbury's Bank Plc | Independently run | Scotland |
| Santander Financial Services plc | Santander Group | Spain |
| Santander UK Plc | Santander Group | Spain |
| Schroder & Co Ltd | Independently run | England |
| Secure Trust Bank Plc | Independently run | England |
| Shawbrook Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| SilverRock Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group | Japan |
| Standard Chartered Bank | Independently run: it does not conduct retail banking in the UK. The bank operates primarily in Asia and Africa. | England |
| Starling Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| State Bank of India (UK) Limited | State Bank of India | India |
| StreamBank PLC | Independently run | Wales |
| Tandem Bank Limited | Tandem Money Limited | England |
| TD Bank Europe Limited | Toronto-Dominion Bank | Canada |
| Tesco Personal Finance Plc | Barclays | England |
| Triodos Bank UK Ltd | Triodos Bank N.V. | Netherlands |
| TSB Bank plc | Banco Sabadell | Spain |
| Turkish Bank (UK) Ltd | The Turkish Bank Group | Turkey |
| Union Bank of India (UK) Limited | Union Bank of India | India |
| United Bank for Africa (UK) Limited | United Bank for Africa | Nigeria |
| United National Bank Limited | United Bank (Pakistan) | Pakistan |
| United Trust Bank Limited | Independently run | England |
| Unity Trust Bank Plc | Independently run | England |
| Vanquis Bank Limited | Vanquis Banking Group | England |
| Virgin Money | Nationwide Building Society | England |
| VTB Capital plc | VTB Bank | Russia |
| Weatherbys Bank Limited | Weatherbys | England |
| Wesleyan Bank Limited | Wesleyan Assurance Society | England |
| Zempler Bank | Advanced Payment Solutions Limited | England |
| Zenith Bank (UK) Limited | Zenith Bank | Nigeria |
| Zopa Bank Ltd | Independently run | England |
There is also a government-run savings bank called National Savings and Investments.