Banking

uSwitch.com comments on Barclays results

Barclays’ bumper profits announcement totalling £7.13 billion for the group (an increase of 35% since 2005) and overall write offs of £2 billion arrive amidst fears that the free banking era in the UK could soon come to an end.

Consumers urged to put pressure on the Big Banks

As this year’s ‘Bank Reporting Season’ kicks off, one of the only true alternatives to banks in the UK - Zopa.com - is encouraging consumers to take a stand against the excessive profits taken by the Big Banks in this country.

Save with M&S travel money and take off without the ‘tax’

British travellers could save £1.3 billion this year by shopping around for the best deal on foreign currency – a typical saving of more than £35 per travel money purchase which would cover the £5 increase in Air Passenger Duty from 1 February 2007 on seven European flights.

uSwitch.com comment on Citibank's latest move

Nick White, Director of Financial Services at price comparison and switching website uSwitch.com comments on Citibank’s latest move to automatically upgrade their Sterling current account customers to a Citibank Plus £10 a month packaged account:

Halifax leads search for "forgotten" accounts

Halifax is launching today a campaign to reunite its customers with approximately £44 million held in around 110,000 old and unused savings and bank accounts.

Match banks’ world-class profits by world-class service

Previewing the announcement of the banks’ profits over the coming weeks, National Consumer Council Chief Executive, Ed Mayo, said,

FSA fines Nationwide £980,000 for information security lapses

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today fined Nationwide Building Society (Nationwide) £980,000 for failing to have effective systems and controls to manage its information security risks.

Sex, lies and financial adultery

All is not a bed of roses amongst British couples according to personal finance website Fool.co.uk. An online poll of 1,610 readers has unearthed evidence of money mistrust, financial adultery, secret bank accounts and furtive lifeboat funds.

Halifax's new Ultimate Reward Current Account

Halifax's new Ultimate Reward Current Account, believed to be the best value packaged current account from a major High Street bank, launches on Monday 19th February.

Teenage attitudes towards debt

Educational charity the ifs School of Finance the only provider of GCSE, AS and A level equivalent qualifications in Personal Finance, has welcomed the results of a survey into young peoples views on debt and money in general.

Teenagers in debt by 17

Over half of England’s teenagers have been or are in debt by the time they are 17, and two in three (66%) think about money every day, according to research released today. In addition, 90% worry about their money and spending but tend to think of overdrafts and credit cards as easy ways to spend more than they earn, or to buy things they couldn’t normally afford.

Faster internet and phone payment service on track

To coincide with today's (Monday 12 February 2007) publication of the OFT's final Payment Systems Task Force Report, the UK banking industry today confirms that they are on track to introduce the new faster payments system, agreed with the Task Force, by November 2007. They also announced that there are thirteen founding members of the new system.