Abbey welcomes CC report on SME banking services

Abbey Business Banking today welcomes the Competition Commission’s decision to remove its recommendation of price control in its report on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) banking services.

These price controls were put in place in 2003 and compelled the “Big Four” banks to offer an interest rate of at least 2.5 percentage points below base, free money transmissions services, or both.

Ian Wilson, Managing Director of Business Banking said: “Abbey believes that price controls create a distorted market, and narrow the options for competition. The removal of these controls will create a more transparent and competitive market.

“Abbey has been paying credit interest on its Business Banking Accounts since it entered the business banking market in 1998, and currently offers eight per cent to people switching to its business banking current account. Abbey was the first bank to offer free day to day banking to business banking customers, and has an extensive range of attractive savings offers.

“This has lead to an upsurge in Abbey’s share of the business banking market – we have seen an increase of nearly 50 per cent in people switching to us in the first half of 2007 compared with the same period in 2006.

“Abbey Business Banking now benefits from the backing of Santander, which has a proven track record of understanding and focussing on the needs of SMEs throughout the world. We remain committed to SMEs, and doubling our share of this important market to six percent in 2008.”