Ten minutes is a long time in banking

The enormous volume of business transacted round the clock through the UK's banks is highlighted in the British Bankers' Association's latest Abstract of Banking Statistics.

The 25th annual Abstract from the BBA provides a wealth of information on the activities of the UK's banks during the calendar year 2007, including figures on banks' assets, lending volumes, mortgages, current accounts and cards - even the current numbers of ATMs.

The figures show that in every 10 minutes of every day of the year:

40,000 people use the internet to check their bank balance or statement; 3,700 pay their bills online;

46,000 people visit ATMs, withdrawing over £3.2 million in cash;

33,000 purchases are made using credit cards by UK card holders;

clearing systems process 23,000 cheques, 105,000 automated payments and 132,000 plastic card payments; and

banks earn £266,000 for the UK's balance of payments and pay £170,000 into the Exchequer directly through taxation.