Are any UK banks in trouble?
6 of the 37 UK banks with a published credit rating show a warning sign today: Metro Bank, Vanquis Bank, Close Brothers, Aldermore Bank, Co-operative Bank and Coventry Building Society. The other 31 have no negative outlook, no downgrade in the last twelve months and an investment-grade rating. This page checks every UK bank's current long-term ratings from S&P, Moody's and Fitch for the three signs the agencies give before a bank gets into difficulty, and is updated every day the ratings are re-checked. Whatever a bank's rating, eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person per banking licence.
UK banks showing a warning sign today
| Bank | Blended rating | Warning signs |
|---|---|---|
| Metro Bank PLC | Rated below investment grade (BB) In its favour: a positive outlook from Fitch Ratings, meaning the rating may be raised | |
| Vanquis Bank Limited | Rated below investment grade (BB-) In its favour: a positive outlook from Fitch Ratings, meaning the rating may be raised | |
| Close Brothers Limited | Negative outlook from Fitch Ratings (BBB, 15 Dec 2025) Negative outlook from Moody's (A3, 17 Apr 2026) | |
| Aldermore Bank Plc | Negative outlook from Moody's (Baa1, 22 Oct 2026) | |
| Co-operative Bank plc | Downgraded by Fitch Ratings from A+ to A (September 2026) | |
| Coventry Building Society | Downgraded by Fitch Ratings from A+ to A (September 2026) In its favour: a positive outlook from Moody's, meaning the rating may be raised |
Each bank's page has its per-agency ratings with their dates and sources. A warning sign is the agencies' opinion, not a prediction that a bank will fail.
The warning signs, and what each one means
| Negative outlook | The agency has left the rating where it is but signals the direction it expects over the next one to two years. |
| Rating watch (Fitch) or review for downgrade (Moody's), CreditWatch (S&P) | A stronger signal than an outlook: the agency has placed the rating under review for a possible downgrade. |
| Downgrade in the last twelve months | The rating has already been cut by one or more notches. |
| Below investment grade | Below BBB- (S&P and Fitch) or Baa3 (Moody's), sometimes called "junk" or speculative grade: the agencies regard the bank's ability to pay as more exposed to a downturn than an investment-grade bank's. |
Failures are rarely sudden. The agencies normally move a bank to a negative outlook or rating watch first, then downgrade it, often by several notches over months; the UK banks rescued in 2008 had all been downgraded during that year. A fall below investment grade is the signal worth acting on if you hold more than the FSCS limit with one bank (what happens if a bank goes bust).
What it means for your money
Up to £120,000 per person per banking licence (£240,000 in a joint account), a warning sign makes no difference: the FSCS repays eligible deposits if a UK-licensed bank fails, normally within seven working days, and protected deposits are excluded by law from a bail-in. Above the limit, spreading money across separately licensed banks protects more of it than choosing a single highly rated one (the safest bank account in the UK).
What ratings cannot show
34 banks on this site, including most app-based and specialist banks, have no public credit rating, so the agencies give no warning signs for them either way. A missing rating is not a verdict on safety; for those banks the useful checks are whether the bank holds its own UK banking licence (which brings FSCS protection) and who stands behind it, both on each bank's page (rated and unrated UK banks).
Rating changes in the last twelve months
Since 8 November 2025 this site has recorded 2 upgrades, 2 downgrades and 2 outlook changes to UK banks' ratings, each confirmed against the bank's own published ratings. Every one, with its source, is on UK bank rating changes.
Frequently asked questions
Which UK banks are in trouble?
6 of the 37 UK banks with a published credit rating show a warning sign today: Metro Bank, Vanquis Bank, Close Brothers, Aldermore Bank, Co-operative Bank and Coventry Building Society. The other 31 have no negative outlook, no downgrade in the last twelve months and an investment-grade rating. A warning sign in a rating is not a prediction of failure, and eligible deposits are FSCS-protected up to £120,000 per person per banking licence whatever the rating.
Is Metro Bank going bust?
Metro Bank's blended credit rating is BB, below investment grade, with a positive outlook from Fitch Ratings. A rating is the agencies' opinion of its ability to pay what it owes, not a forecast that it will fail. Eligible deposits with Metro Bank are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person, like any UK-licensed bank's.
Is Vanquis Bank going bust?
Vanquis Bank's blended credit rating is BB-, below investment grade, with a positive outlook from Fitch Ratings. A rating is the agencies' opinion of its ability to pay what it owes, not a forecast that it will fail. Eligible deposits with Vanquis Bank are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person, like any UK-licensed bank's.
Are UK banks safe at the moment?
Most are rated investment grade, and 31 of the 37 rated UK banks show no warning sign in their ratings today. Whatever a bank's rating, eligible deposits are FSCS-protected up to £120,000 per person per banking licence.
How would I know if my bank was in trouble?
Credit ratings usually move first: a negative outlook, a rating watch, then downgrades, often months before a failure. A fall below investment grade (BBB-/Baa3) is the threshold to take seriously if you hold more than the FSCS limit.
Built from each agency's current long-term rating of the licence-holding bank, as published by the bank or the agency and re-checked daily. This page reports what the agencies say; it is not a forecast and not financial advice.