Banks ‘must work to regain trust’

The OFT ruled that, in effect, banks had been breaking the law by levying ‘unfair’ charges to fund their operations, at the expense of the ordinary financial consumer, Mr McManus maintains.

And with millions of Brits facing potential bankruptcy and debt management concerns, banks are considering introducing charges for all current account users as part of a general process of restructuring.

Mr McManus commented: “It is going to take a lot for the banks to regain the trust they have lost in the UK, a restructuring is not going change opinions overnight, it is going to take a lot.”

Chief executive of the OFT John Fingleton made clear earlier this week that the “issue of bank current account charges is a matter of real concern to the banks’ customers and raises wider questions about competition and transparency of pricing”.