UK Banks fall behind global rivals, reduce recovery prospects
30 Jun 2011
The UK banking sector has fallen behind its main competitors, with Britsh banks having become less profitable than their US, Chinese, Japanese and French counterparts since the global financial crisis.
According to new industry rankings, the chances of their recovery looks dim.
UK banks were the second most profitable in the world behind those in the US just four years ago, but have now dropped to fifth place, according to the authoritative Banker magazine.
The UK banking industry had been overtaken in the past four years by China, Japan and France, said the magazine.
Despite global banking profits staging a comeback to almost pre-crisis levels, profits at UK lenders are still 58 per cent below their 2007 peak, reveals the Banker's latest ranking of the world's 1,000 biggest banks by measure of their capital strength.
The UK banking sector faces a "Herculean" task to regain its former position and may not succeed, warned Brian Caplen, the magazine's editor.
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