Breaking up of three banks – what I said on BBC Radio Essex this morning

BBC Radio Essex kindly asked me back today to discuss my opinion on the break up of Lloyds, RBS and Northern Rock.

Following my previous appearance on the Radio Essex morning show, it was fun to be back on air again this morning, this time to discuss the break up of the three banks.

In a sentence, I think this is good news for the consumer. Allowing highly customer focussed companies such as Tesco and Virgin to enter the high street banking sector will give a welcome shake up to a market that is currently dominated by six major players.

Existing players such as HSBC will not be allowed to bid, and that is good for the market, as extending their influence would stifle, rather than encourage, competition.

The new banks will provide traditional banking services such current accounts, savings accounts, loans and mortgages.

Whilst we cannot be certain that Tesco and Virgin will succeed in buying these retails banks – but I bet they do – their marketing skills and sheer ability to cross sell from their other markets is going to give the competition something to fear.

Who will benefit?  Well, the consumer will.

Mortgages at competitive rates, savings accounts paying that little bit extra, maybe a few extra perks such as Tesco Clubcard points thrown in, point to a better deal for all of us.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *