News story: Retail banking market investigation update

[Legal Beagles]

Today we have published our second update on the banking market investigation.

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[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking market investigation update

Update on the retail banking investigation
Since our last update on 22 December 2014, we have been focused on gathering and analysing information.
Information gathering
This included a programme of site visits which concluded late in February. We travelled around the UK to visit ten banks and a building society offering personal current accounts (PCAs) and/or banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Alongside this, many organisations have provided us with information we requested on both PCAs and SME banking. We have also received information on how price comparison websites operate and are used in the markets we are investigating. In total, the information received runs to thousands of pages and is being reviewed and incorporated into our analysis such as, for example, models of consumer behaviour.
Finally, we have also been collecting information to progress our case studies, which are focused on the barriers that new and expanding participants in the retail banking market might face. We have recently increased the number of case studies we are undertaking to enlarge coverage of participants in SME banking and potential entrants.
Research programme
Another strand of our investigation which has been keeping us busy is our research programme. Last week we published a notice on the qualitative research we are planning to conduct with SMEs. We have also made significant progress on our quantitative research with both PCA customers and SMEs. GfK NOP Ltd is due to complete a survey of around 5,000 PCA customers across the UK later this month and Charterhouse Research is completing its surveys with SMEs across the UK next month. GfK is also starting an additional series of in-depth interviews with individual PCA customers, which we consider will offer us more detailed insights than the mini focus groups that we had also originally envisaged in our notice of 22 December 2014. Finally, we are progressing our tender for research on international comparisons of innovation, including the impact of technology, in retail banking.
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In addition, we have been consulting on our proposed approaches to various analytical workstreams as these are further developed. Last week, we published consultations on our proposed econometric analysis of the determinants of searching and switching for PCAs, and on our proposals for comparing the actual and perceived behaviour of PCA customers.
Forthcoming work
During the coming months, we will be:
 continuing to progress all the areas of research described above;
 continuing to gather and analyse other information as we refine and test the hypotheses of potential harm set out in the issues statement published in November 2014;
 engaging with a wide range of stakeholders across the UK;
 preparing working papers to be published from April onwards; and
 preparing to update our issues statement in May.
Further information
Updates and notices on our ongoing work, as well as non-confidential versions of key submissions we receive, are published as they become available on the investigation case page.
Please subscribe to our banking case alerts to be kept up to date with all news on this investigation.
If you wish to submit any information or raise any concerns relevant to the investigation please contact retailbanking@cma.gsi.gov.uk.
19 March 2015

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking market investigation update

International research appointment

8 April 2015: The CMA has appointed Deloitte LLP to carry out international research and we are now inviting comments on Deloitte’s methodology. The deadline for comments is 13 April 2015.

• Notice of appointment and Deloitte’s methodology (8.4.15)
• Notice on international research (26.2.15)

[Amethyst]

Re: News story: Retail banking market investigation update

• Notice of intention to make an order (23.11.16)
• Draft order for consultation (23.11.16)
• Draft explanatory note (23.11.16)
• Press release: Open Banking transformation moves a step closer (23.11.16)

Documents

• Service quality design testing: a presentation of qualitative research findings by Research Works (23.11.16)

‘Open Up Challenge’
means the challenge prize to be administered by Nesta that will incentivise the development of innovative and sustainable solutions that help small businesses to make more informed choices about financial products and services. The challenge will reward solutions that make innovative and secure use of data, enable intelligent comparison, provide actionable insight and added value to users, integrate with other services and stimulate engagement.

[davisgraham]

Re: News story: Retail banking market investigation update

Hi Amethyst,
Thanks for the update of retail banking market investigation.
Thanks!!