The New Regulatory Paradigm and the Economic Uncertainties Put the UK Banks to the Test

The UK banks continued to be affected by both a weak internal business environment in 2012 and the risk of new housing market corrections. Badly shaken by the financial crisis, the UK banking system suffered from losses and writedowns that led the government to implement tremendous public bailouts. The budgetary costs of such public supports persuaded the governmental authorities to rethink the banking supervision architecture and to redefine the national regulatory framework. These interventions certainly contributed to restore the global solvency of the UK banking sector. However, it could not hide the persistent duality concerning the profitability and the soundness between internationally diversified institutions and those rooted in their domestic market and therefore more exposed to developments in the domestic economy. The stricter regulation will impact the banks for a long time and even more, the organisation of the UK financial system.