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Retail banking industry

Research guide

Published: 08 Mar 2018 Updated: 11 Jan 2023 Update History

Exclusive content
Access to our exclusive resources is for specific groups of students and members.

Use our industry guide to find key background information, market research, import and export guidelines, statistics, legislation, trade bodies and trade publications.

The Business & Industry Guides series is produced by the Library & Information Service for ICAEW members and ACA students.

We can compile tailored key players reports, mailing lists, market reports, benchmarking reports and industry news. Our enquiry team can also research other industry-specific information, such as taxation, for you. Call us on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

Trends and forecasts

Online articles

The library provides full access to articles from leading business, finance and management journals.

Access to articles is provided subject to suppliers’ terms of use.

Useful links

Global banking CEO outlook 2022
KPMG survey providing insights from global banking CEOs. Areas covered include the prospects for economic recovery, strategies for growth and industry trends.

2020 banking and capital markets outlook
Article from Deloitte on the current state of the banking industry and the disruption that is likely to occur over the next decade. Includes what to expect in 2020 and beyond for a range of business sectors including retail banking. Published in December 2019.

Brexit

The UK-EU trade deal: financial services
Briefing paper from the House of Commons Library outlining the UK-EU trade deal’s provisions on financial services and early indications of its impact on the sector. Published 22 June 2021.

Brexit and The City: The Impact So Far
Summary of a study from think tank New Financial on the impact of Brexit on the UK banking and finance industry and the emerging post-Brexit landscape of financial centres across the EU. Full report available upon request. Published April 2021.

The impact to financial services firms of the Brexit deal – EY comment
Commentary and analysis of how the trade agreement may affect the financial services sector, highlighting four key areas of regulatory focus for firms: cross-border access, protective vs open policies, capital and frictional costs, and co-operation on the supervision of large groups and global policy forums. Published 20 December 2020.

Covid

Financial Institutions Sentiment Survey 2021: On the road to recovery
Survey by Lloyds Bank of senior executive at over 100 financial services firms in the UK. Provides insights into the impact of COVID-19 on expectations for growth and job creation. Also includes views on sustainability in the year of COP26. Published in September 2021

COVID-19 economic impact on expected credit losses
Analysis from KPMG of the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance and expected credit losses of major UK banks. Published in May 2021.

Market research

Market research reports focusing on this business sector are available from a number of market research specialists. In most cases these reports are available to fee-paying subscribers or on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Industry profiles and SWOT analyses

Industry profiles give an overview of market size in different countries or regions, the competitive landscape and provide a forecast of market performance. These profiles are available exclusively for ICAEW members and ACA students through the Library & Information Service.

Regional reports

Africa

Asia

Europe

Latin Amemrica

Middle East

North America

Oceania

If you’re looking for industry profiles for regions or countries not listed above, please contact the Library on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com.

SWOT analyses examining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for major companies operating in this sector are available.

If you experience any problems accessing these resources, please see our online resources troubleshooting FAQ.

Other market research specialists

Some free information is available from the following market research specialists, ranging from industry news to executive summaries of the reports.

Euromonitor
A full listing of reference products and research reports for the consumer finance sector from Euromonitor, with a range of global, country and company level reports. Each report provides a contents listing and a useful executive summary reporting on the key trends in each country report.

IBISWorld
Business and industry research specialists offering reports on a wide range of sectors, including banks. Report snapshots, table of contents and a sample report are available. The company also produces global industry research reports.

Mintel
A full listing of reports covering the financial services industry is available with the option to view the executive summary and a table of contents for each report.

Industry news

Need to find the latest news on this industry sector? We can carry out industry news searches using a range of trade titles and general business sources through our databases. To discuss your requirements, please contact the enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com.

Statistics on the UK

UK Finance

The trade association UK Finance provides a range of statistics including data on high street banking, cards and mortgages.

Bank of England

The Bank of England produces data covering various areas of the financial services industry, including:

Statistics on Europe

European Banking Federation

The European Banking Federation compiles annual Facts & Figures on the sector in Europe. Data covers:

  • main banking sector indicators
  • total bank assets
  • loans
  • deposits
  • securities acquired and issued
  • capital and reserves
  • number of employees
  • banks and bank branches.

Employment

UK

Average employment costs within this sector are available from Table 14 of the Office for National Statistics publication Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). Average employment costs are provided for full-time employees, part-time employees and all employees.

The data includes average employment costs for:

  • financial institution managers;
  • finance and investment analysts/advisers;
  • financial and accounting technicians;
  • counter clerks.

Other regions

Please see individual country profile pages for links to sources of national statistics.

Legislation and regulation

Financial services sector: End of transition period guidance
Page from HM Treasury which brings together guidance on the end of the Brexit transition period for consumers and financial services businesses from a number of government departments and regulatory bodies.

 

Considerations for firms after the transition period
Information from the Financial Conduct Authority to help financial services firms at the end of the Brexit transition period. Includes temporary transitional power (TTP), considerations for UK and EEA firms and the end of passporting.

 

Retail banking market investigation
Investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into the supply of personal current accounts (PCAs) and of banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The final report was published in Aug 2016. The CMA published its final order implementing reforms, announced in the final report, in Feb 2017.

UK key players, ratios and trends

We can produce reports on this sector using selected information from the FAME company database. Reports are available for:

  • Banks
    UK SIC (2007) Code 64.19/1

Summaries of the three types of report we can produce are given below. You can find further information, a sample report, pricing details and an online order form on our industry sector reports page.

We also operate a bespoke reports service with results tailored to your specifications. Please contact our enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com to discuss your requirements.

Key players report

Our key players report looks at the top companies (by turnover) in any one of the segments within this sector. Reports usually include the top 100 companies but in more specialised sectors with fewer than 100 companies we show all companies with disclosed figures. The reports provide data on 11 comparative fields for the last available year, including:

  • turnover;
  • profit margins;
  • returns on shareholder funds;
  • solvency ratios
  • number of employees.

Our reports enable easy comparison of the top companies in this sector against each other and against the sector median, average and standard deviation in each of the 11 fields.

Mailing list

A separate mailing list report is also available with address and contact details for the top companies in any of the segments within this sector.

Market reports

Our market reports look at the aggregated data for the top companies (by turnover) for any of the segments within this sector across all the fields usually found in a company report. The reports include data for the last 10 years* and enables easy comparison of trends for the whole sector. Reports usually include the top 100 companies but in more specialised sectors with fewer than 100 companies we show all companies with disclosed figures.

*Please note the number of companies for which data is aggregated will vary for any given year.

The market reports include sections on:

  • key financials and employees;
  • profit and loss account;
  • balance sheet;
  • cash flow statement;
  • financial ratios;
  • financial trends and changes;
  • profitability trends and changes.

UK benchmarking

We offer benchmarking reports that can be used to inform your own business strategy or help you identify value-added services to offer to your clients.

Contact the enquiry team directly on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com for a report tailored to your own specific requirements.

Directories

Banks and building societies list
Monthly list published by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) of the banks and building societies it regulates.

Trade bodies

Trade journals and publications

Trade journals, B2B magazines and specialist consumer magazines are another useful source of news and statistics.

Further reading

Articles, books and journals in the Library collection

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to book loans.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports by post or email through our document supply service.

Can't find what you're looking for?

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Every effort has been made to ensure that the information given in this Business & Industry Guide is correct. However, the content of websites changes frequently and users should satisfy themselves that the information they contain is suitable for the purposes for which they wish to use it. We would be grateful to receive notification of any broken links at library@icaew.com.

Disclaimer

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.