Household HSBC Watch

HSBC will drop the rates on some savings products and business accounts and increase the overdraft rate on all its current accounts. Rates will drop on all cash Isas, Flexible Saver and Instant Access Savings accounts. All business account holders will suffer a drop in their interest rate and overdraft rates are being increased on all current accounts. All the changes take effect on Monday.

The sweeping changes, which will affect most HSBC customers, come on the back of an OFT directive to banks and credit card companies to reduce the late payment fee on credit cards to £12. The OFT has also threatened to clamp down on overdraft charges. HSBC denied that the raft of changes was in response to the OFT’s card charges ruling, or because of any possible move towards clamping down on overdraft fees. A spokesperson said changes were a result of a more general product review.

Nick White, head of personal finance at comparison site Uswitch said that it could be the start of a more general move by banks to make up the money that they will lose thanks to the OFT’s ruling. U.S. based Household - HSBC Watch said HSBC smiles at regulators while stabbing consumers in the back.