CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

[EXC]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

Isn't this a slight duplication being as banks have just provided all their charges details to the CMA ?

Yes it is but I suspect it might be a ploy to demonstrate how ludicrously complicated the charging structures are. He's given them some deliberately simplistic questions for which he'll no doubt get spreadsheets of various scenarios back in response.

I think his tactic is all the more apparent by quoting Cruickshank ie the ''problems with price transparency and the difficulty of comparing products''.

[Amethyst]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

Okay good, although all the info is in the CMA reports and the basis of the CMA investigation is because of the lack of transparency - but of course the reports and whatnot are long winded, complex and I doubt many would actually bother reading them, so yes it probably is better to get the message more 'public'.

[Amethyst]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

FINAL REPORT - 9th August

On 9 August at 7:00am, the CMA will publish a summary of its final report, a press release and an overview of its findings following its investigation. Final decisions on the Northern Ireland Order and the review of the SME undertakings will also be published at 7:00am. The full final report will be published during the course of the day on 9 August.

[EXC]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

Press release https://www.gov.uk/government/news/c...ing-revolution

Overview https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...ail-market.pdf

Proposals infographic https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...remedy-map.pdf

The CMA has also introduced specific measures to benefit unarranged overdraft users, who make up around 25% of all personal current account customers, and small businesses.

Banks make £1.2 billion a year from unarranged overdraft charges. Banks will be required to send alerts to customers going into unarranged overdraft, and inform them of a grace period, to avoid charges – research by the FCA has shown that this type of alert, when combined with mobile banking, can heavily reduce overdraft charges. Banks will also have to set a monthly cap on unarranged charges, and tell their customers about it.

The final report should be published later today so no idea what the cap will be or if they're going to consult on it but the cap is scheduled to be in place by Q3 2017.

[EXC]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

Still no report published and it's the banks that get to decide what the cap is lol.

The CMA decided against a cross-industry cap, leaving individual banks to set their own charges.

Alasdair Smith, chair of the CMA's retail banking investigation, told the Today programme: "Heavy-handed regulation would run the risk of reducing the availability of unarranged overdrafts."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37014133

Surely it would be preferable if unarranged overdrafts weren't available? They are the source of the problem.

And the idea that they can 'revolutionise' the banking market for consumers with a phone app is laughable.

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

• Notice of extension of the inquiry statutory period (7.3.16)

Final report

• Final report (PDF, 8.8MB) (9.8.16)
  • Final report corrigendum (11.8.16)
  
  
• Appendices 1.1 to 6.9 (PDF, 9.8MB) (9.8.16)
• Appendices 7.1 to 10.2 (PDF, 8.7MB) (9.8.16)
• Appendices 13.1 to 19.1 and glossary (PDF, 4.4MB) (9.8.16)
• Summary of final report (9.8.16)
• Press release: CMA paves the way for Open Banking revolution (9.8.16)

[Amethyst]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

Page 557

We have decided to make an Order to require PCA providers in the UK to specify
the maximum total charge that a customer could incur in any given month as a
result of exceeding or attempting to exceed a pre-agreed credit limit.

All PCAs in the UK where a customer could incur a charge due to these circumstances would
be subject to this requirement.

We refer to this requirement as a monthly maximum charge (MMC).

PCA providers will be required to make disclosure of the MMC no less prominent
than the presentation of other information on overdraft fees and interest. We will
also consider requiring PCA providers to use a standardised term and definition to
explain the MMC to customers. We will set out our proposals for this in the consultation on our draft Order.


We have also decided to recommend to the FCA that it undertakes work to assess the ongoing effectiveness of the MMC and considers whether measures (such as the introduction of rules if appropriate) could be taken to further enhance its effectiveness.


To avoid unnecessary regulatory duplication, we could remove all or part of the Order once the FCA has concluded its work and is ready to introduce its own measures.

[EXC]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

PCA providers will be required to make disclosure of the MMC no less prominent
than the presentation of other information on overdraft fees and interest

It sounds a bit like the 7 scenarios the OFT put in place after the test case. The banks put them in such obscure locations even the OFT had trouble finding them. In fact I did an FoI to find out how many hits the banks' scenarios pages had after about 6 months and it was in the low thousands if memory serves me. An utter waste of space.

[EXC]

Re: CMA PCA Retail banking investigation presses ahead - 1st report post #14

Treasury Select Committee have published the responses from the banks to the question 'how much are your charges'.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/co...atement-16-17/