Despite a climate of rising interest rates last year, British high street bank shares led investors to lose £7 billion amid increasing distrust regarding future profits for UK lenders.
Statistics show that shares of Barclays, Virgin Money, Metro Bank and NatWest all failed to provide gains between January 2023 and 2024, due to a gloomy outlook for the banking sector.
NatWest ended 2023 at a considerable deficit after shares dropped by a fifth since the start of the year started, equating to the bank’s value losing close to £5 billion.
Barclays shares have also seen a significant drop, with its investors losing around £1.5 billion in value, while Lloyds shares ended the year flat, failing to make any measurable gains.
Alongside major lenders, smaller banks like Metro and Virgin Money have also experienced poor results. Virgin Money did not manage to recapture its share price, while Metro Bank lost much of its value following an emergency rescue agreement to ensure it remained afloat.
The market cap of the above lenders combined in the red has declined by £7 billion.
According to a recent report, investors who pushed funds of £1,000 into the four high street bank shares on January 1, 2023, and cashed out by the end of December of last year, would have been left with just £853.80. This figure includes dividends that are not incorporated in the bank shares value.
UK consumers seeking to purchase stocks and shares are always advised to take advice from experts in portfolio management in Shropshire, Staffordshire and other parts of the country before acting.