moneysupermarket.com comment on the OFT's Market Study into current accounts

Commenting on the OFT's Market Study into current accounts, Stuart Glendinning, managing director at moneysupermarket.com, said:...

"This looks like the OFT is backtracking, having belatedly realised its announcement to investigate bank charges was premature and that it had created an expectation among consumers of lower fees to come - unlikely to be fulfilled now the banks have threatened the withdrawal of free banking".

""It is not obvious to me why the existing investigation into bank account charges cannot take into consideration all aspects of the current account proposition, including the fact most customers benefit from free banking, hence it looks like a get-out solution for making minimal impositions on the banks at the end of the two investigations.

"Free banking is on the way out anyway through the hard sell of packaged accounts and the selected targeting of profitable customers as manifested by First Direct late last year.".

Back to top