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The credit crunch was not kind to British banks. Many of the country’s lenders grew dangerously exposed to overheated property markets, exotic derivatives and flighty wholesale funding sources. When the financial crisis struck, these exposures pushed several banks to the brink (and beyond).

Against this dire background, the latest half-year results from the UK’s largest lenders represent a relatively swift return to health. The country’s biggest banks all reported profits for the first six months of this year. For part-nationalised RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, the profits marked a welcome break from a recent string of losses. For the other large domestic banks—HSBC and Barclays—robust increases in first-half results met or beat analysts’ expectations. The results reinforce the conclusions of the EU’s July stress test, which the British quartet passed comfortably.

Read more at Financial Services Briefing: “Recovery mode” (August 6th)