Sainsbury's Bank plc, trading as Sainsbury's Bank, is a British bank wholly owned by

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company ...

, a national

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

chain in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The bank began trading on 19 February 1997 as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between J Sainsbury plc and Bank of Scotland.

took full ownership of the bank in January 2014. The bank's head office is located in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland and its registered office in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. In 2017 it had over 2.1 million active customers.

History

Sainsbury's and Bank of Scotland (later a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group) formed the bank as a joint venture, and it received a full banking licence from the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government o ...

in January 1997. It launched on 19 February 1997. On 8 May 2013, Sainsbury's announced it would buy the 50% share in the business owned by Lloyds Banking Group. The transfer was completed on 31 January 2014, and Sainsbury's Bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of J Sainsbury plc.

Services

The bank provides a range of financial products including travel money, insurance, credit cards, savings and loans, having withdrawn from the mortgage market in 2019. It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the

Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financ ...

and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Sainsbury's Bank products are linked to the Nectar reward scheme and can be applied for online or by telephone.

Finances

In the 2019-20 financial year, the bank had an income of £323 million, customer deposits of £6.3 billion, and total assets of £9.4 billion.

References

External links

* {{Commercial and retail banks in the United Kingdom Banks of Scotland Banks of the United Kingdom Supermarket banks Banks established in 1997 Sainsbury's Companies based in Edinburgh