We welcome the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) efforts to increase competition in retail banking and are supportive of its provisional decision to make recommendations to the FCA to take forward a range of remedies, namely on service quality information, prompts and overdraft measures. The treatment of existing customers is a key priority for the FCA, including within our work on competition in retail banking.
Once the CMA’s investigation is concluded and the final remedies are confirmed, we will publish a response to the CMA’s final report. This will set out details of the work we intend to undertake to develop and implement the relevant remedies, taking into account our statutory objectives and obligations. We will also take into account ongoing work that is beyond the scope of the CMA’s investigation and will consider the implications of the proposed remedies across related products and services and the fit with other regulatory initiatives.
We agree with the CMA that it is important that remedies result in the right outcomes for customers and firms and intend, where necessary, to do research and testing to inform remedy development.
While its investigation remains ongoing we will continue to work closely with the CMA. We are interested in the views of stakeholders and encourage interested parties to engage with the CMA’s consultation.