UK banks ranked in official best-to-worst guide, customers urged to check

Savers are being encouraged to scrutinise their bank's rankings as the Competition and Markets Authority has published its annual banking scores. The list ranks 17 of the UK's largest banks based on customer surveys across a variety of products including online banking, overdrafts and in-store experiences.

The rankings must be publicly displayed by banks and building societies, both online and in-branch, allowing customers to assess how their bank is performing and consider if they could receive a better experience elsewhere. This year's rankings reveal that challenger institutions are surpassing traditional high street names.

The results are divided between business accounts and personal account providers. For both personal and business accounts, online bank Monzo emerged victorious. Starling Bank also consistently ranked in the top three, while The Co-operative Bank consistently received low scores.

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In the personal accounts category, Chase and Starling Bank were tied for second place, while Lloyds Bank and Halifax shared sixth place. For business accounts, Lloyds Bank was in joint 10th place with Virgin Money, and Barclays, HSBC UK and the Bank of Scotland all shared 14th place.

Overall personal account provider rankings:

• Monzo
• Chase / Starling Bank
• First Direct
• Nationwide
• Lloyds Bank / Halifax
• Bank of Scotland
• Barclays
• Metro Bank
• Santander
• HSBC UK
• NatWest
• TSB
• The Co-Operative Bank
• Virgin Money
• Royal Bank of Scotland

Overall business account provider rankings:

• Monzo
• Mettle by NatWest
• Starling Bank
• Handelsbanken
• Tide
• Zempler Bank
• Metro Bank
• NatWest
• Santander
• Lloyds Bank/Virgin Money
• 12TSB
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Barclays / HSBC UK / Bank of Scotland
• The Co-operative Bank

CMA director of markets Daniel Turnbull said: "This data puts power into customers' hands. Whether it's for a personal or business account, people can see how their bank fares against others – and stay or switch, according to their needs.

"It also puts pressure on banks to listen to feedback and think about whether the services they provide are really working for customers."

Any public enquiries about the rankings are to be directed to the CMA's General Enquiries team on general. enquiries@cma.gov. uk or by phone on 020 3738 6000. Specific rankings for Northern Ireland can also be found online.

The findings emerge shortly after the Bank of England's most recent base rate reduction, which is influencing interest rates throughout the market, prompting experts to urge savers to stay vigilant. Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said: "Savers need to keep a close eye on the market for any vanishing accounts and ensure they abandon their loyalty if it is not being rewarded with a decent savings rate."