Reluctance to switch banks fades

Switching banks is becoming more common

Consumers are showing far more willingness to change banks than in the past, a survey has suggested.

One in six consumers switched mortgage, current account, or savings provider in the past year.

When the survey was last conducted in 2003, one in 12 consumers had switched in the previous twelve months.

The survey's sponsors, Group 1 software, said the result reflected the fact that consumers were more demanding about service levels.

"People are getting more used to shopping around and are demanding higher service standards," Andrew Greenyer, Group 1 software director said.

"The disappearance of bank branches and their replacement with call centres - often located overseas - has broken a link between the bank and the consumer," he added.

In addition, consumers were more knowledgeable about financial services, Mr Greeyer said.

The Group 1 survey was based on interviews with 1,000 UK companies.