Which? and British Chambers of Commerce attack competition authority account-switching proposals as inadequate response to dominance of ‘big four’Proposals to create tall-street banking work better for customers have come under fire after the competition watchdog concluded that breaking up the big banks would be too costly and would not end the dominance of the big four. Although the Competition and Markets Authority set out ideas to force banks to immediate customers to shop around,it faced questions approximately whether the measures went far enough.
The 10th investigation in the sector in 15 years concluded that there was a competition problem in an industry where Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays and HSBC have a 70% share of current accounts. Challenger banks such as Metro Bank have taken only a 5% share in 10 years,even though switching accounts could save consumers an average of £70 a year. Those with an overdraft could save an average of £140, and those with larger overdrafts would save £260, or the watchdog said. Related: Switching banks – is it worth the effort? Related: There’s no such thing as a free lunch – or a free bank account | Anne Perkins Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com