British Model

The British model entails a parent bank company overseeing non-banking subsidiaries involved in insurance and securities operations. This structure is often referred to as the “bank-parent model” by some authors. Consequently, this chapter aims to scrutinize the UK banking system and juxtapose it with the German model, considering that the UK has also undergone structural reform affecting financial conglomerate operations. This chapter explores the essence of the British banking system, provides a brief historical overview of the UK banking sector and assesses the purported lack of connections between banks and industry. Subsequent sections analyse the various types of UK financial conglomerates and the implications of structural reform.