It is believed that the UK government is looking at finalising plans for a "People's Bank" which would be based upon the 12,000 strong network of post offices around the UK. This comes despite the fact that the Royal Mail, with the support of the UK government, has been systematically closing many branches up and down the UK. Indeed it was only a few months ago that the UK government was looking to sell off Royal Mail and now it may well become the central plank of the "People's Bank".
A number of MSP's have today stepped forward to demand an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into the Scottish banking arena and an apparent lack of competition. The move has been championed by a number of business associations up and down the UK and when you bear in mind the near collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS (part of the Lloyds bank group) it is perhaps easy to see why there is increasing concern North of the border.
In an alarming development it has been revealed that identity theft in the UK increased by 20% in 2009 compared to figures from 2008. While this in itself is worrying, the very fact that 72% of identity theft cases occurred in the second half of 2009 would indicate that 2010 is set to see significant growth in this area of fraudulent activity.
Adam Posen, a member of the MPC, has today stepped into the public domain to criticise competition in the UK banking arena at a time when businesses and consumers are crying out for more liquidity. While he appreciates that the UK is probably ahead of the EU and even the US in terms of tackling various banking problems, he believes that the fact that five major banks in the UK control the vast majority of the market has led to a reduction in short-term competition.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) tonight stands accused of abandoning UK banking customers with the announcement that it will be left up to the banking industry to improve practices and bring in new regulations in the short to medium term. The OFT has given the banking industry two years to make changes such as giving customers the chance to opt out of unarranged overdraft facilities and more compassion for those who have fallen into financial difficulty.
The Zürich authorities are said to investigating an alleged theft of data by a former employee of HSBC which has placed up to 24,000 Swiss client accounts at risk. The authorities are looking into HSBC's individual security measures and systems to see if they have been followed to the letter and indeed if any changes can be made to ensure no such allegations crop up in the future.
Despite a concerted effort by the UK banking community, regulators and the UK government it seems that more and more people are falling victim to online banking scams. So called "phishing" attacks have grown in number from just 1,700 five years ago to over 51,000 last year. Reported online banking losses from fraud have increased from £23.2 million in 2005 to nearly £60 million in 2009 and looks set to rise for the foreseeable future.
In a move which is certain to limit the number of companies potentially interested in the 318 Royal Bank of Scotland branches up for sale, it has been revealed that prospective buyers will need to find additional funding of £2 billion to support the loan book attached to the business. While there has been speculation that a number of newcomers to the UK market will emerge, the additional funding requirement would seem to suggest only larger more well-established institutions will join the race for the branch network.
The Coventry building society has today confirmed talks are progressing with the Stroud and Swindon building society to create a group which would have around £20 billion in assets. While talks are at a very early stage it is believed that the Coventry building society, with 1.2 million members and 48 branches, and the Stroud and Swindon building society, with 265,000 members and 43 outlets, are keen to try and structure a deal acceptable to both parties.
As the UK banking arena moves out of recession and back into a growth phase there are growing concerns that so called "free banking" is again under threat. While in reality there is no such thing as "free banking" in the UK or anywhere around the world, whether this takes in direct charges or indirect charges, we are starting to see an increase in service charges and banking fees.
