Current account customers are reaping the rewards of other banking services as their providers seek to tie them down to more of their financial products .

According to financial research company Defaqto, high street banks including HSBC and Abbey and Alliance and Leicester are trying to tempt current account customers with improved deals on mortgages, saving accounts, credit cards and loans, with Halifax the latest to adopt the strategy.

David Black, banking specialist at Defaqto, believes banks see current accounts as the ideal platform from which to sell from as consumers tend to form a strong bond with the product.

He added that the banks' tactic may have been prompted by the proliferation of price comparison websites which encourage consumers to search around for the best possible deals.

The cross-selling of other products on to the existing customer base is destined to become the key battleground as each bank strives to become the one-stop shop for all the personal finance needs of their customers, Mr Black explained.

The news comes as price comparison website gocompare.com released research which showed fewer than 11 per cent of people switched credit card balances over the last 12 months.