Lloyds Banking Group has cemented its position as the most complained-about name in British financial services, lodging more complaints with the City regulator than any other lender during the second half of 2025, as the wider sector returned nearly a quarter of a billion pounds to disgruntled customers.
New figures from the Financial Conduct Authority show that the FTSE 100 banking giant made 187,516 major complaints against its subsidiaries between July and December last year. The dark horse breed itself suffered, accounting for 90,837, while its Edinburgh-based commercial arm was not far behind at 79,508.
The price ratio partly reflects the group’s base, which counts about 28 million customers and remains the country’s largest financial services provider. Santander, which serves around 14 million Britons, came a distant second with 124,919 complaints.
Despite the impressive numbers at the top of the table, the wider picture is one of relative stasis. Total complaints across the industry reached 1.9 million, an increase of less than 1 percent over the first half of the year and broadly in line with the trend since early 2021, when figures fluctuated between 1.7 and 2 million.
However, there was a measure of good news in this sector. The proportion of complaints in favor of the customer fell from 57.9 per cent to 55.5 per cent, while the total amount of repair debt fell to £236.2m, down significantly from £283.7m in the first half of 2025. Average pay also tracked down, falling to £215 from £2
The findings come at a critical time for the high street, with both Lloyds and Santander under fire from consumer groups for the speed with which they are pruning their branches. Lightyear’s analysis shows the Spanish-owned lender has closed nearly 500 sites in the past two years and announced 44 closures in January, fueling concerns that vulnerable customers are being left behind.
Lurking behind the headline numbers is the car mis-selling scandal, which continues to cast a long shadow over Britain’s lenders. Lloyds has set aside £2bn to cover possible repairs linked to alleged secret commission arrangements between car dealers and banks, while Santander has set aside £461m. Both are among the most exposed names in the industry.
The FCA’s moratorium on car finance complaints, which has been in place since January 2024 after a large number emerged after concerns about the discretionary commission’s arrangements, will be lifted on 31 May 2026, raising the prospect of new complaints coming to lenders’ desks this summer.
Elsewhere, motor and transport insurance proved a prominent pain point of the period, with claims jumping by more than a third to 340,000. That surge helped drive a 10 percent jump in insurance and protection claims to 790,329. Current accounts remained the largest single category, although volume fell to 492,149 from 541,493 in the first quarter.
For Britain’s biggest banks, the latest data offers little respite. With car finance figures still to come and branch closures continuing to stoke political heat, the pressure on customer service teams looks set to remain high until 2026.
