Banking News

NatWest, the ‘No1 Bank for 1st Year Students' for the 4th year running this week launches its 2008 Student Package offering both competitive financial benefits and market leading incentives including the very popular 5-Year 16-25 Railcard, worth £120.

Lloyds TSB is has announced a nationwide drive to reunite customers with approximately £69 million held in over 120,000 unused savings accounts, commercial accounts and personal current accounts.

The ‘big five' high street banks missed out today at the second annual Which? awards, with online bank Cahoot picking up the award for Best Current Account and The John Lewis Partnership winning Best Credit Card Provider.

Moves to maintain market confidence and crackdown on possible abuse during rights issues were welcomed by the British Bankers' Association.

Hundreds of charities and community groups across the nation could soon be benefiting from a cash boost as the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation invites people to nominate good causes to share in its tenth anniversary charity give-away!

The global borrowing benchmark BBA LIBOR is to be strengthened by reinforcing the scrutiny of its contributor banks and expanding the membership of its governing body and its panels.

More than half of banking customers pay bank charges, research from FairInvestment.co.uk has revealed.

APACS, the UK payments association, has confirmed the start of the Faster Payments Service for standing order payments.

Citizens Advice, the charity which helps people resolve their legal, money and other problems by providing free information and advice, is working with National Debtline and Advice UK on a major project looking at people's experience of dealing with their own debt problems.

The Bank of England left interest rates on hold today. It is the second month in succession that the Monetary Policy Committee has chosen to sit on its hands.

Action to protect people whose financial difficulties may make them prey to ‘get out of debt free' promotions was welcomed by the British Bankers' Association.

The OFT is warning consumers to be careful before responding to unsolicited mailings which advise them to cancel existing individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and which suggest they opt for an alternative debt management solution such as bankruptcy instead.

Commenting on the Competition Commission's findings into PPI, Stuart Glendinning, managing director of price comparison site, moneysupermarket.com, said: "You reap what you sow.

It is important that customers do not find themselves short of valuable protection and so new proposals on the selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) must be considered carefully, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) said today.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain interest rates at 5.0%.