Banks ‘squeezing customers more than ever’

Banking groups in the UK are squeezing their customers more than ever before in an effort to make up revenues lost as a result of the so-called credit crunch, it has been suggested.

Figures from the financial advisory firm Chase de Vere show that many of the country’s leading lenders are failing to pass on the cut in borrowing costs introduced by the Bank of England last month.

This has left many people, including millions of homeowners, with a more difficult struggle to become debt free and Chase de Vere has also indicated that savings account interest rates are not being increased by providers.

Vince Cable, treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, told the Independent: “What’s happening is that banks are securing as much money as they can for their shareholders on the upswing, and on the downswing they’re running to the government for help.”

Meanwhile, MoneyFacts.co.uk recently warned that British consumers could be adding considerable amounts to their respective debt management burdens by entering a current account overdraft without bank authorisation.