Have you checked your overdraft rate recently?
A number of UK banks have recently increased their overdraft charges in an attempt to claw back as much money from UK banking customers as possible. This is a situation which is sure to continue across the UK as the banking arena continues to change. We have seen the disappearance of PPI, the potential payback of billions of pounds of overdraft charges and the UK government introduce a charter in favour of UK banking customers.
It is easy to forget that UK banks have shareholders whom they need to report to and the disappearance of large income streams has had a significant impact on overall profitability. There is even talk of "free banking" disappearing from the UK although many people believe that "free banking" never really existed in the first place. Unfortunately, UK consumers seem set to pay the price as regulators continue to attack the financial sector and banks need to replenish their profits in other areas.
This constant game of cat and mouse has basically seen a shift in the more profitable areas of UK banking as the more prominent UK financial institutions always seem to be one step ahead of the regulators.
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