Banking customers ready to switch, financing study indicates

Mon, 05 Mar 2007

The majority of customers who belong to one of the UK's five largest banks claim that they would not have any reservations about switching, in news that may be of interest to a number of financial services providers.

In a survey of readers from online financing website The Motley Fool, some four in five customers who bank with HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds TSB, HBOS or Royal Bank of Scotland admit they would move if they could find better financial services deals elsewhere.

Of the people who would consider switching, one in three have stayed with their current banking institution for more than 20 years, while one in four have been with the big five for between 11 and 20 years.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at The Motley Fool, offered advice to banking customers in the light of the findings.

"There is tremendous tension between banks and their customers," he said.

"Customers need to be vigilant against stealth charges, which may present themselves in the form of fees for credit cards [or] poorer rates on interest-bearing accounts."

This month, several of the UK's largest banking institutions unveiled a boost in profits.

For instance, Lloyds TSB announced an 11 per cent increase in profits, while Barclays unveiled a 35 per cent year-on-year rise.

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