How Strong Are British Banks? And Can They Pass the Covid-19 Stress Test?

Abstract

The Bank of England maintains that banks in the United Kingdom are strongly capitalised, but there is ample evidence from banks’ share prices and market values that contradicts this claim. Banks are more fragile now than they were going into the last crisis, and the Bank of England’s failure to ensure the resilience of the banking system suggests a need for radical reform that does away with the regulator.