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

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

Full provisional findings report

• Provisional findings report (PDF, 4.9 MB) (28.10.15)

[EXC]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

Although saying that, if they do eventually get this comparison togetehr that calculates what you were charged at your bank and what it would have cost you elsewhere ( fricking complicated system but apparently they have the data in a system already) - then that would be very interesting.

But while Mr Smith knew how much his own account cost, he said he was not able to give MPs any figures for other consumers

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34722543

[Unregistered]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34722543

How hard can it be.

On my online banking I have a annual summary of fees and debited interest - ( it doesn't account for lost positive interest though, but that'd be pennies on my account lol)

March 14 - March 15 - 17.04
March 13 to March 14 - £21.07
March 12 - March 13 -90.00

So the banks send out these annual summaries - consumers receive them, and many will have them in their online banking. So ask the consumers, ask the banks - see if they match up - work out an average - bingo - you can answer the MP's question.

[EXC]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

How hard can it be.

On my online banking I have a annual summary of fees and debited interest - ( it doesn't account for lost positive interest though, but that'd be pennies on my account lol)

March 14 - March 15 - 17.04
March 13 to March 14 - £21.07
March 12 - March 13 -90.00

So the banks send out these annual summaries - consumers receive them, and many will have them in their online banking. So ask the consumers, ask the banks - see if they match up - work out an average - bingo - you can answer the MP's question.

Finding out how much you've paid in fees once a year isn't much good in my view.

The OFT Personal Current Account Market Study published in 2006 found that banks make over 50% of their total revenues from PCAs by way of net interest income (forgone interest) and in fact they make more money from NII than from loans and credit cards combined.

Many people believe that if they stay in credit (and avoid overdraft charges & interest charges) their ''free banking'' is being subsidized by those that don't but in fact it's the reverse. They just don't realize how much staying in credit actually costs.

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

Some interesting responses from members of the public to the provisional report.

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

Responses to provisional findings and notice of possible remedies

• Barclays Bank plc (7.12.15)
• the Money Advice Service (7.12.15)
• First Trust Bank (2.12.15)
• Jonquil Lowe (2.12.15)
• Mondo (2.12.15)
• MoneySuperMarket (2.12.15)
• Which? (2.12.15)
• Responses from members of the public (updated 2.12.15)
• Bacs (25.11.15)
• Baringa (23.11.15)
• The Behavioural Insights Team (23.11.15)
• British Chambers of Commerce (23.11.15)
• Campaign for Community Banking Services (19.11.15)
• Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (25.11.15)
• Cowry Consulting (25.11.15)
• Danske Bank (27.11.15)
• EEF (23.11.15)
• Financial Services Consumer Panel (23.11.15)
• GLI Finance (25.11.15)
• Gocompare.com (23.11.15)
• HSBC (PDF, 1MB) (27.11.15)
• Information Commissioner’s Office (23.11.15)
• Institute of Directors (25.11.15)
• Move Your Money (25.11.15)
• Prin-Gov (23.11.15)
• Royal Bank of Scotland (27.11.15)
• Santander UK plc (27.11.15)
• Secure Trust Bank (23.11.15)
• Social Market Foundation (25.11.15)
• Tesco Bank (25.11.15)
• The UK Cards Association (25.11.15)
• TSB Bank plc (PDF, 1.2MB) (27.11.15)
• The University of Manchester (23.11.15)
• Bank 1 (19.11.15)
• Bank 2 (25.11.15)

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

Barclays differs quite a lot from the Money Advice Services response.... as expected really

Overdraft users are not a homogenous cohort

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

Responses to additional remedies now online ( all pdf downloads)

Responses to additional remedy suggestions

• Baringa (15.1.16)
• The Co-operative Bank plc (15.1.16)
• Danske Bank (15.1.16)
• Secure Trust Bank (15.1.16)
• Tesco Bank (15.1.16)
• Virgin Money (15.1.16)
• Which? (15.1.16)

Responses to provisional findings and notice of possible remedies

• BGL Group Limited (15.1.16)

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

Sorry haven't posted everything as there's so much.... but this is particularly interesting

Financial Services consumer Panel -- SUPPORTING OPT-IN overdrafts AND A CAP ON OVERDRAFT CHARGES

https://assets.digital.cabinet-offic...21_January.pdf

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

This is interesting - Nationwide disagree with Lloyds lol.... https://assets.digital.cabinet-offic...g_analysis.pdf

4.
LBG's own analysis supports the CMA's conclusion that LBG tends to have higher prices overall
4.1LBG’s final conclusion set out in the Paper is that the CMA must withdraw the
conclusion that LBG tends to have higher prices.
4.2
However, we note that LBG ranks 15 and 14 in each of the segments < £1,500 CTO/< £3000 credit balance and £1500+ CTO/< £3000 credit balance, respectively.
According to Table 4 of the Paper, these segments account for the majority of LBG’s customers, namely between 60%and 80%.
4.3
Accordingly, on the basis of its own analysis, LBG is still the highest, or close-to-highest priced provider for the majority of its customers
, supporting the CMA’s conclusions

[EXC]

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

When the banks themselves can't agree on what the comparative costs of their products are what chance have their customers got?

Not sure if you've been following Kevin Peachey's series of articles on bank accounts:

Unpicking the current account banking 'con-trick' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35373929

The only truly free bank account http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35472850

On the new fee-free current accounts:

All the major High Street names have offered these accounts since January after a deal was thrashed out between the Treasury and the industry.

But one charity says bank staff are not all aware of the accounts.

Debt counselling service Christians Against Poverty (CAP) said that staff were inadvertently directing applicants with a chequered financial history to regular, fee-charging current accounts.

[Amethyst]

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

'inadvertently' my backside.

[EXC]

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

You could see the ''deal with the Treasury'' was a stitch up from the minute they announced it. The banks agreed to produce the product but never had any intention of providing it.

[Amethyst]

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

• Full case timetable (updated on 7.3.16)
• Notice of extension of the inquiry statutory period (7.3.16)

The role of comparison sites for small and medium-sized enterprises in addressing the adverse effect on competition (7.3.16)

Quantitative and qualitative research results

• Notice of publication of quantitative and qualitative research results (7.3.16)
• Qualitative report of findings prepared by Optimisa (PDF, 3.1 MB) (7.3.16)
• Qualitative technical report prepared by Optimisa (PDF, 6.6 MB) (7.3.16)
• PCA survey – technical overview prepared by GfK (7.3.16)
• PCA survey – data tabulations prepared by GfK (PDF, 3.8 MB) (7.3.16)
• SME survey – technical overview prepared by BDRC (7.3.16)
• SME survey – data tabulations prepared by BDRC (PDF, 1.7 MB) (7.3.16)

Investigation updates

Short updates on the progress of the retail banking market investigation.

• Investigation update (7.3.16)

Provisional findings and possible remedies

• Supplemental notice of possible remedies (7.3.16)

We have today published our updated administrative timetable. This has been

extended with a new statutory deadline of 12 August 2016, in part, to properly
consider responses to the Supplemental notice of possible remedies which has also

been published today for consultation. This supplemental remedies notice looks at a
number of proposed remedies targeted at personal current account (PCA) overdraft
users.

These include measures to help customers better understand and manage

their use of overdrafts, requiring banks to offer grace periods during which customers
can take action to avoid unarranged overdraft charges, requiring banks to give PCA
customers a choice on whether to have an unarranged overdraft facility or not
,and measures to limit maximum unarranged overdraft charges each month.

We welcome responses from all interested parties by Monday 21 March 2016.

We will be publishing today a working paper setting out our further thinking on our
proposed remedy for a price comparison website for small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) (remedy 4 in our Remedies Notice ) and welcome parties’ views

by the same deadline of Monday 21 March 2016.


Finally, we will also be publishing today the results of our remedies research

: qualitative research conducted by Optimisa Research and the SME and the PCA

Omnibus surveys conducted by BDRC Continental and GfK NOP, respectively.
We published on 26 February 2016 a paper setting out our assessment of the

potential impacts of the changes to the tax regime for banks which came into effect
from January 2016. Responses to the paper are requested by Friday 11 March 2016.

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking investigation presses ahead

• Letter from Rt Hon Andrew Tyrie MP regarding banking tax surcharge (6.5.16)
  • Letter from Professor Alasdair Smith to Rt Hon Andrew Tyrie MP (6.5.16)
    • Letter from Rt Hon Andrew Tyrie MP (6.5.16)