OFT to review barriers to enter UK banking sector
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has today announced a wide-ranging review of the various barriers to entry for the UK banking sector. This comes at a time when the UK government, and the previous government, is looking to increase competition on the high street and competition in the UK banking arena in particular. There are specific areas which the OFT will look at including the regulatory environment, access to payment systems, branch networks and other issues impacting on the UK banking arena.
There is concern that if barriers to entry are too high then competition in the sector and the development of the sector will be impacted in the future. When you consider that the UK banking arena has changed significantly over the last 24 months there is a need to allow new blood into the sector as well as allowing competition to expand and develop.
The proposed sale of the Royal Bank of Scotland network of branches is ongoing although at this moment in time it is unclear as to who could be the new face on the high street. It was hoped that Virgin Money would be a prominent player in the auction but Richard Branson has been forced to withdraw.
Share this..
Related stories
Lloyds to cut bank charges
Lloyds TSB has announced plans to cut its charges on unauthorised overdrafts.The bank is the first on the high street to announce such a policy on the much publicised charges, which have led to customer uproar and will go the High Court in a test case next year.The new lower charges - which will be introduced on November 2nd - will see the bank cut its interest rates on unauthorised borrowing by a...
Read MoreUK Banks win right of appeal regarding charges
The ongoing debacle which has seen UK banks taken to court by the Office of Fair Trading, with regards to overcharges, appears set to go on for some time yet after the banks were granted the right of appeal to the House of Lords. They are looking to appeal against a recent decision which effectively confirmed that the charges could be subject to "unfair contractual terms" laws. This had been seen...
Read MoreExtra fees hit elderly and low-income families
A charity has called for the government to step in to help people hit hardest by extra fees on bill payments.National money education charity Credit Action says government intervention is urgently needed particularly by low-income families and the elderly.The calls come as companies such as BT and Virgin Media, start to charge extra fees for those who pay their bills in cash in a drive to make cus...
Read MoreConfusion and disagreement on UK bank split
Despite the fact that the UK government and the Bank of England appear in favour of spitting UK banks into smaller more competitive components, Lord Adair Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has today issued his opinion on the subject. He believes that by detaching the more stable elements of the UK banking sector from the "Casino institutions" we could well be injectin...
Read MoreTrust essential for those looking at joint accounts, says BBA
It is essential that anyone who is looking at opening a joint bank account has the "utmost trust" in their partner, a spokesperson for the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has warned.Brian Capon, head of media relations at the BBA said that joint accounts are still a popular choice for couples and are useful for paying bills and saving money, but urged people to speak to their banks to find out...
Read More