MoneySavingExpert.com homepage
Cutting your costs, fighting your corner
Founder, Martin Lewis · Editor-in-Chief, Marcus Herbert
Search bar closed.
MSE News

Small rise in current account switching as Halifax makes biggest gains

halifax-rhs
Callum Brodie
Callum Brodie
News Reporter
20 October 2016

Just over 1% of the 70 million active current accounts in the UK were switched in the first nine months of this year – although thousands more people switched banks than in the same period in 2015.

Latest figures from the Current Account Switch Service show there were 802,036 switches between 1 January and 30 September, up 3% on the same period last year. The switching service has now seen more than 3.3 million successful switches since it launched in 2013, and reports a seven-day switching success rate of 99.5%.

See how to switch bank and our current top picks in the Best Bank Accounts guide.

Which banks are people switching to and from?

The stats released today also include switching figures for individual banks and building societies in the first quarter of 2016. Over that period Halifax was once again the most switched-to bank, though HSBC has gained significant ground in the battle to win current account customers' business – moving up the overall rankings from 12th to 4th in the space of just three months.

In the first quarter of 2016, HSBC gained a net 5,965 customers (49,349 new customers and 43,384 losses), compared with a net loss of 1,982 customers in the last quarter of 2015.

Otherwise the switching table remains similar to figures for the previous quarter, with Barclays once again taking the wooden spoon:

Top banks for current account switches in Q1 2016

Brand Gains Losses Net gains/losses
Halifax 78,921 31,500 47,421
Nationwide 42,072 13,819 28,253
Santander 57,731 39,860 17,871
HSBC 49,349 43,384 5,965
TSB 15,797 11,438 4,359
Tesco Bank 772 664 108
Bank of Ireland 245 835 -590
Danske 364 1,109 -745
AIB Group 114 951 -837
Ulster Bank 206 1,615 -1,409
Bank of Scotland 2,556 4,494 -1,938
Clydesdale Bank 6,602 10,268 -3,666
Co-operative Bank 1,362 12,012 -10,650
RBS 2,173 13,262 -11,089
Lloyds 15,486 34,331 -18,845
NatWest 14,099 36,493 -22,394
Barclays 6,121 40,674 -34,553
Lower volume participants, ie, banks with fewer switches (1) 823 670 153
(1) C Hoare & Co, Commerzbank, Cumberland Building Society, Duncan Lawrie, Hampden & Co, Reliance Bank, Weatherbys Bank and Virgin Money.
MSE Forum

Small rise in current account switching as Halifax makes biggest gains

Forum image
MSE Email icon 10 December 2024

For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today - it’s spam free!

Martin's car finance update
Are you owed £1,000s?
Top children's savings pay 5.5%
For tots, tweens & teens
Longest NO-FEE 0% debt shift
No cost till 2026
Christmas Lights Calculator
What do they cost to run?
Free £25 with top 0% card
Ends 11.59pm Monday
Shocking shopping mistake
Watch Martin's vid
18 Costco tips
In time for Christmas
Tools and calculators

Clever ways to calculate your finances

Find your odds of getting top cards
Find your odds for getting a cheap loan
Compare broadband, phone & TV deals
Compares thousands of mortgages
Eight calcs to help you work out the cost
We ensure you’re on the cheapest tariff