10 Largest Banks in the UK: A Detailed Breakdown
Our list of the 10 largest banks in the UK should provide you with a detailed breakdown of what each bank has to offer and what they are best known for, including products, services, and customer relations.
This list is to help you find out which bank could be right for your needs. You can read on to see which bank is the BEST FOR YOU!
HSBC UK
HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations. This bank serves around 40 million customers through four global businesses: Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Private Banking. Its network covers 65 countries and territories in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and Latin America.
HSBC UK is the UK’s leading international bank with around 7 million customers, 594 branches – more than any other bank – and 1,500 cash machines.
It offers a huge range of financial products including current accounts, savings options, mortgages, and credit cards. It also has specialist teams that serve businesses ranging from small enterprises to large multinationals as well as private clients.
Total Assets: £2.257 trillion GBP
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
CEO: Noel Quinn (Aug 2019–)
Revenue: 49.55 billion USD (2021)
Founder: Thomas Sutherland
Founded: 3 March 1865, Hong Kong
Barclays
Barclays is the second-largest bank in the UK, with total assets of 1.2 trillion GBP, and the second-largest in Europe. The bank operates a large network of 1,600 branches across the UK and has more than 48 million customers worldwide. In addition to retail banking and wealth management, Barclays provides investment banking services to large corporations, governments, and financial institutions across the world. Founded in 1996 by James Barclay, Thomas Gould, and John Freame in London, Barclays’ history dates back to 1690 when it began as a goldsmith business. The bank has more than 130,000 employees around the globe.
Total Assets: £1.384 trillion GBP
CEO: C. S. Venkatakrishnan (1 Nov 2021–)
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Revenue: 21.94 billion GBP (2021)
Founded: 20 July 1896, City of London, United Kingdom
Number of employees: 83,500 (2021)
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group is a major British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. The Group's history stems from its founding in 1695 by the Parliament of Scotland of the Bank of Scotland, which is the second oldest bank in the United Kingdom. The Group's headquarters is located at 25 Gresham Street in the City of London and its registered office is on The Mound in Edinburgh. Lloyds Banking Group's activities are organized into Retail Banking; Commercial; Life, Pensions & Insurance; and Wealth & International.
The group has around 30 million customers, over 2,000 branches, and employs approximately 65,000 people. It also has an extensive network of automated teller machines in the UK, with around 11,500 ATMs in total.
Total Assets: £886.5 billion GBP
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Revenue: 9.366 billion GBP (2021)
Number of employees: 58,000 (2022)
Founded: 19 January 2009
Natwest Group
NatWest, previously known as National Westminster Bank, offers current accounts, savings accounts, mortgages and loans, credit cards, and more. It has around 59200 employees serving 7.5 million personal customers and around 800,000 business customers in the UK. In March 2020, it was announced that RBS would be rebranded as NatWest.
The bank offers a range of personal banking products, including current accounts, savings accounts, and mortgages. It also offers commercial banking services to small businesses, large corporations, and public sector clients.
Total Assets: £781.992 billion GBP
Founded: 18 March 1968; 53 years ago
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Key people: Sir Howard Davies, Chairman & Alison Rose, Chief Executive
Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered PLC is a British multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in London, England. It operates a network of more than 1,200 branches and outlets (including subsidiaries, associates, and joint ventures) across more than 70 countries and employs around 87,000 people. It is a universal bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite its UK base, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 90% of its profits come from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Total Assets: £631.5 billion GBP
Founded: 1969, London, United Kingdom
Revenue: 14.7 billion USD (2021)
Number of employees: 85,000 (2022)
Santander UK
Among the top 10 banks in the UK, Santander UK is the only one whose parent company is based outside of Britain. With branches in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, Santander UK is part of the larger Santander Group, which is headquartered in Spain. The bank officially became a subsidiary of the Santander Group in 2010 when it was still known as Abbey National. Since then, it has acquired other banking units to become the United Kingdom’s third-largest bank. It is headquartered in London and has four main business units: personal banking; corporate banking; retail banking; and private banking.
They serve customers all over the world, with more than 14,000 branches and 100 million customers across Europe and Latin America, with 598 branches in the UK alone.
Total Assets: £1.419 trillion GBP
Number of employees: 3,401 (2018)
Founded: 20 August 1957
Parent organizations: Santander Group, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH
Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society branches, ATMs, employees, and customers in the UK. Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution, the seventh-largest cooperative financial institution, and the largest building society in the world with over fifteen million members. It has its headquarters in Swindon, with an office in Threadneedle Street, London, and administration centers based in Bournemouth, Northampton, and Dunfermline. For over a century, Nationwide Building Society has been helping members save money and make the most of their money when they spend it. From current accounts, savings, and investments to mortgages, credit cards, loans, and insurance. The society has around 16,000 employees. By assets, it is the largest building society in the United Kingdom as well as the second-largest mortgage lender (after Lloyds Banking Group) and savings provider in the UK (after Santander UK). The bank operates over 700 branches throughout England and Wales, with over 1,300 branches for its 9.4 million active customers.
Total Assets: £254.9 billion GBP
Headquarters: Swindon, United Kingdom
CEO: Joe Garner (5 Apr 2016–)
Founded: 1846
Number of employees: 18,333
Virgin Money
Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by three independent brand-license companies in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia. The name originated with Virgin Group's financial services company Virgin Money, which was established in 1995 and sold to CYBG in 2018. Since then, the Virgin Money brand has been owned by Bancorp International Group (BIG) and licensed to its subsidiary companies.
Virgin Money UK
Virgin Money UK plc is a mortgage and personal finance business based in the UK with over 3 million customers. It was established in 1995 as part of the Virgin Group and launched its first direct bank account in 1999. In 2001, it acquired Northern Rock, which had been founded in 1865 as the Northern Rock Building Society before demutualizing and converting into a bank in 1997. It rebranded as Virgin Money on 6 January 2012. On 4 January 2018, CYBG plc announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Virgin Money for £1.7 billion: the acquisition was completed on 12 October 2018.
Number of employees: 7,415 (2021)
Headquarters: Leeds, United Kingdom
Total assets: 89.1 billion GBP (2021)
Revenue: 1.489 billion GBP (2021)
Founded: February 2016
Net income: 474 million GBP (2021)
Investec
Investec is a specialist banking group that prides itself on offering financial expertise and knowledge to help clients achieve their goals. The business is made up of four main divisions - private banking, asset management, wealth and investment, and specialist banking.
It offers services to over 1000,000 private clients including individuals and businesses that are served by over 8,200 employees across the UK and South Africa.
The bank has recently been named the Best Performing Bank in South Africa for the second year running.
Total Assets: £57.74 billion GBP
Founded: Johannesburg 1974; 48 years ago
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Sandton, South Africa
Key people: Philip Hourquebie, Chairman Fani Titi, CEO
The Co-Operative Bank
The Co-operative Bank was founded in 1872 and has over 4 million customers with around 373 branches. It is one of the only high street banks to offer an ethical banking service, which means it does not invest in industries that are considered harmful to society or the environment.
It offers a range of current accounts for both individuals and businesses. The bank also offers savings products, mortgages, personal loans, insurance, and credit cards.
Its main operating base is Manchester but it also has offices in Plymouth, London, and Bristol. It employs around 2,890 staff.
Total Assets: £25.6 billion GBP
Founded: 8 November 1872
Headquarters: 1 Balloon Street, Manchester, UK
Key people Nick Slape (Chief Executive Officer), Bob Dench (Chairman)
Metro Bank
Metro Bank, which was founded in 2010, is the UK's first new high street bank in over 150 years. The bank has a focus on customer service and its stores are open seven days per week and late into the evenings.
Metro Bank has 70 stores across London, the South East, and the South West of England. Although it does not have a traditional branch network, customers can access their cash at any ATM machine for no charge.
Metro Bank offers current accounts, savings accounts, business banking, and business savings accounts as well as mortgages.
Metro Bank also offers credit cards to personal customers and business owners (provided they are over 18). You can apply for a credit card online or in-store.
Total Assets: £21.65 billion GBP
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
CEO: Dan Frumkin (19 Feb 2020–)
Founded: 29 July 2010
Revenue: 404.1 million GBP (2018)
Number of employees: 2,831 (2017)
Conclusion
Banking is a vital part of everyday life. Whether you’re buying a house, saving money, or just sending a friend some money, banks are often the go-to place for all of your financial needs.
People want to know which banks they can trust, and which ones they should stay away from.
The above list offers an overview of the biggest and most popular banks in the UK.
If you’re looking for a bank, then you should consider one on this list.
List of UK Banks
Abbey National plc
Abbey National Treasury Services plc
ABC International Bank plc
Access Bank UK Limited
Ahli United Bank (UK) plc
Airdrie Savings Bank
Allied Bank
Alpha Bank
AMC Bank Ltd
Anglo-Romanian Bank Ltd
ANZ Bank (Europe) Ltd
Banc of America Securities Ltd
Bank Leumi (UK) plc
Bank Mandiri (Europe) Ltd
Bank of Beirut (UK) Ltd
Bank of China (UK) Limited
Bank of London and The Middle East plc
Bank of New York Mellon (International) Limited
Bank of Philippine Islands (Europe), PLC
Bank of Scotland plc
Bank Saderat plc
Bank Sepah International plc
Barclays Bank plc
Bradford & Bingley plc
British Arab Commercial Bank Ltd
Broadcastle Bank ltd
Brown Shipley & Co. Ltd
Butterfield Bank (UK) Ltd
C Hoare & Co Investec Bank (UK) Ltd
CAF Bank Ltd
Capital One Bank (Europe) plc
Cater Allen Ltd
Charity Bank Ltd
Church House Trust plc
CIBC World Markets plc
Citi Financial Europe plc
Citibank International plc
Close Brothers Ltd
Clydesdale Bank plc
Consolidated Credits Bank Ltd
Conversbank (UK) Limited
Co-operative Bank plc, The
Coutts & Co
Credit Suisse International
Crown Agents Bank Ltd
DB UK Bank Limited
Dresdner Kleinwort Limited
Dunbar Bank plc
EFG Private Bank Ltd
Egg Bank plc
Europe Arab Bank Plc
European Finance House Ltd
European Islamic Investment Bank Plc
FBN Bank (UK) Ltd
FCE Bank plc
FIBI Bank (UK) plc
First Trust Bank
Gatehouse Bank plc
GE Capital Bank Ltd
Ghana International Bank plc
Goldman Sachs International Bank
Gulf International Bank (UK) Ltd
Habib Allied International Bank plc
Harrods Bank Ltd
Havin Bank Ltd
HBOS Bank
Heritable Bank Ltd
HFC Bank plc
HSBC Bank plc
ICBC
ICICI Bank
Intercontinental Bank (UK) plc
Islamic Bank of Britain plc
Ivobank Limited
J P Morgan International Bank Ltd
Jordan International Bank plc
Julian Hodge Bank Ltd
Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander Limited
Kexim Bank (UK) Ltd
Kingdom Bank Ltd
Kleinwort Benson Private Bank
Kookmin Bank International Ltd
Liverpool Victoria Banking Services Ltd
Lloyds TSB Bank plc
London Scottish Bank plc
Macquarie Bank International Limited
MBNA Europe Bank Ltd
MediCapital Bank plc
Melli Bank plc
Methodist Chapel Aid Ltd
Mizuho International plc
Morgan Stanley Bank International Ltd
N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd
National Bank of Egypt International Ltd
National Bank of Kuwait (International) plc
National Westminster Bank plc
Nomura Bank International plc
Northern Bank Ltd
Northern Rock plc
Northern Trust Global Services Limited
Persia International Bank Ltd
Philippine National Bank (Europe) plc
R Raphael & Sons plc
Rathbone Investment Management Ltd
Reliance Bank Ltd
Royal Bank of Canada Europe Ltd
Royal Bank of Scotland plc, The
Ruffler Bank plc
Sainsbury’s Bank plc
Schroder & Co Ltd
Scotiabank Europe plc
Scottish Widows Bank plc
Secure Trust Bank plc
SG Hambros Bank Limited
Smith & Williamson Investment Management Ltd
Sonali Bank (UK) Ltd
Southsea Mortgage & Investment Co Ltd
Standard Bank Plc
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Life Bank Ltd
State Street Bank Europe Ltd
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Ltd
TD Bank Europe Ltd
The Hampshire Trust plc
Turkish Bank (UK) Ltd
UBS Bank
Ulster Bank Ltd
Union Bank UK plc
United National Bank Ltd
United Trust Bank Ltd
Vanquis Bank Ltd
VTB Bank Europe Plc
Weatherbys Bank Ltd
Wesleyan Bank Limited
West Merchant Bank Ltd
Westpac Europe Limited
Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank Ltd
Zenith Bank (UK) Limited
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