After Santander’s TSB takeover – who are the top players in UK banking? Banking Santander shocked the City last years after beating out its rivals to snap up TSB Bank. Now with the takeover complete, who are the major players in the sector? The near £3bn mega-merger of Santander and TSB has finally reached completion. And with it, Spanish-owned Santander is set to significantly beef up its UK presence [...]
Monzo lost one current account switcher for every two gained in 2025 Banking UK fintech darling Monzo lost one current account switcher for every two it gained last year. The neobank registered just over 20,000 new switchers in the final quarter, but over half of this was offset by the 11,000 thousand outflows. The picture for the final few months of the year mirrors the picture for the [...]
‘Wake-up call’ for UK financial firms as internal control failures drive £1bn fines Business UK financial services firms, which faced £1bn worth of fines since 2021 for internal control failings, should be “seriously concerned”, says the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA). More than half of the 97 Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) enforcement cases analysed by CIIA relate to firms “not getting the basics right”, with many linked [...]
Rachel Reeves to meet Lloyds and Natwest chiefs over Iran war April 20, 2026 Rachel Reeves has called in the bosses of Britain’s top banks for a summit this week to discuss the economic impact of the war in Iran. The Chancellor has invited executives from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Natwest, Santander UK as well as the UK’s biggest building society Nationwide for a meeting this Wednesday. The meeting – as [...]
Why Nationwide’s £7m boss was worth splashing the cash for April 15, 2026 Nationwide splashed the cash on it’s top boss, Debbie Crosbie, in this week’s column Samuel Norman asks if they got their monies worth. Nationwide has been proclaimed Britain’s best bank. The UK’s largest building society – which is, in fact, not a bank due its status as a mutual – has been handed the crown [...]
UK’s best bank revealed – and it’s not a bank April 9, 2026 The UK banking sector’s top bank has been crowned – and (spoiler) it’s not a bank. A new report from Forbes and market research firm Statista analysed the global banking system for the world’s top names in the sector. Over 54,000 people were surveyed across 34 countries in 17 different languages between October and November [...]
Virgin Money swallowed up by Nationwide as top boss exits April 7, 2026 The boss of Virgin Money is set to depart the firm later this years as the UK bank fully consolidates into the Nationwide umbrella. Chris Rhodes took the reins at Virgin Money following its acquisition by Nationwide in late 2024. Before this post, Rhodes served as finance boss at the UK’s largest building society for [...]
House prices pick up but property outlook remains ‘clouded’ March 31, 2026 House prices picked up in March as the property market gained traction after a slow start to the year, though experts warn the Iran war could “cloud” this momentum. The UK’s house prices rose by 2.2 per cent year on year in March, up from one per cent growth in the year to February, as [...]
‘Mortgage mayhem’: Banks’ rates soar past 5.5 per cent amid Iran war volatility March 25, 2026 The UK mortgage market has been flipped upside down with Brits facing higher prices to borrow in the short-term as the Iran war rattles the economy. The average five-year fixed deal for a homeowner has spiked to 5.54 per cent this morning, up from 4.95 per cent at the start of March, according to financial [...]
Revolut and Nationwide sharpen swords in battle to bank Britain March 25, 2026 The claws are out in the battle to bank Britain and in this week’s column Samuel Norman takes a look at the latest shots fired from Revolut and Nationwide. If you had ‘Graham Norton sitting on a horse’ on your banking bingo card, congratulations. The BBC chat show host has swapped his famous sofa with [...]