Is HSBC favouring its richer customers?

A recent report has suggested that High Street bank, HSBC, is giving more favourable treatment to its better off customers with its Internet arm First Direct than to its poorer HSBC customers. Officials claim that the customers of First Direct, who tend to be better off due to changes that were made by the bank a couple of years ago, are getting a far better deal than customers with its parent company, HSBC. Read more

Tags: Debit cards, cheque, better-off customers, surprise, better deal, hsbc, monthly paper statement, rate cut

BoE keeps bank rate on hold

The Bank of England (BoE) has chosen to leave the base rate of interest at its present level of 5.25 per cent.

According to Abbey, the BoE monetary policy committee’s (MPC’s) decision will not have come as much of a surprise to the markets.

Barry Naisbitt, chief economist at the firm, said that last month’s inflation report from the BoE indicated that lower interest rates were “consistent” with meeting its target of two per cent inflation.

This month, the majority of the MPC’s members decided that slowing economic activity “needed to be balanced against their expectation that activity would slow and that inflation indicators remain high”, he claimed.

However, Mr Naisbitt suggested that this view is likely to change over the coming months and a rate cut could be on the way.

Responding to the move, Colbalt Capital said that leaving rates unchanged was “a shame” but noted that the MPC was in a “no-win situation”.

A cut would have been a “welcome boost” for homeowners, it stated.

Tags: present level, expectation, Colbalt, Colbalt Capital, economist, rate cut, economics, committee