How do you make your banking choice?

Jono8 said:
I am with Santander because their 123 account is awesome. Never had an issue with them either and they are always very helpful. Taking out a mortgage with them as well at the moment.
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This.

I have a 123 current account (cashback on utility bills) and a 123 credit card (cash back on fuel and food shopping). Currently making about £20 a month which is pretty awesome considering I haven't changed my spending habits

Couldn't be happier :)
 
I'm with HSBC simply because I had a Midland account as a child. But as it transpires HSBC is probably the dirtiest of all the banks that have retail operations in the UK.

When Handelsbanken opens a branch in my area I'd like to join them. I like Swedish cars and Swedish meatballs so the maths suggest I'll like Swedish bankers.
 
I signed up to my first bank account just before I started uni 8.5 years ago.

At the time, Natwest had the best student account offer (Free Young Persons railcard for 5 years) so I signed up with them.

I still have my £1600 overdraft with them (although now there is a small fee for it) so I have had no reason to change.

Also have accounts with LLoyds (just to have a 2nd account), Halifax (to get card to use for free abroad), Nationwide (to get Visa Electron), which I have not used in years. Most recent account I opened was with Metro bank again just so I can use the card abroad for free. But everything is with Natwest as I have 2 current accounts, 2 credit cards and an e-Isa with them.

They have always been very good and even gave me some very nice compensation after I went into a branch to deposit £200 but the cashier withdraw it from my account instead...lol
 
Natwest at present as they offered the best student account at the time. Was previouslyw ith nationwide, and plan to move to First Direct when I graduate
 
Metrobank for their foreign exchange and fee free use abroad
Natwest for everything else + v. good online banking.
 
I do have an account with Nationwide that my parents set up a long long time ago. But nationwide treated my mum terribly with fraud so we all moved to natwest, I still have about £15 in nationwide but don't touch it.
 
Based on best offers and proximity of branches. Latter being less important these days.

Now they've introduced faster switching I would change bank again but I have various products with my current provider and it is hard enough keeping track of the various savings accounts I have scattered around. Very tempted to consolidate things even further.
 
I opened my first bank account with Midland, then it converted to HSBC. Never had a reason to change because they have always treated me well and have some good products. I do feel bad putting (almost) all my eggs in one basket though, as I currently have a current account, a savings account, a joint account and a mortgage with them but ultimately I'm happy with the service. I also like being able to speak to someone within the UK, within 2 minutes of calling them if I ever need anything.
 
I find it incredibly depressing nobody but one in this thread seems to give a damn about ethical practice :( It's not left wishy-washiness, it's about giving your money to institutions that use it responsibly. How can people in one breath complain about the banks screwing everybody over, then in the next hand over their cash to the cause of the problem.
 
BunnyKillBot said:
I find it incredibly depressing nobody but one in this thread seems to give a damn about ethical practice :( It's not left wishy-washiness, it's about giving your money to institutions that use it responsibly. How can people in one breath complain about the banks screwing everybody over, then in the next hand over their cash to the cause of the problem.
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They are all as bad as each other, life has many many many other things to worry about than banking ethics.

If I had to apply ethics to banks, I really ought to apply it to the computers I use, the trainers that i buy, the underwear that i wear and the food that i eat.

It's endless, you either end up being a hypocrite or you can just live your life to the full, perhaps contribute to your community in a positive way instead.

p.s. I prefer Barclays over HSBC.

For one thing, my local Barclays has a manned counter on saturday. HSBC don't.
 
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Raymond Lin said:
If I had to apply ethics to banks, I really ought to apply it to the computers I use, the trainers that i buy, the underwear that i wear and the food that i eat.
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...

I know what you mean and I understand why you said it.

But ignorance of ethics, chosen or otherwise, do not justify the means.

The red pill and the blue pill represent the en-mass shared delusion we all face in the rat race of social evolution. Decide for yourself, are you content to benefit directly from the misery and suffering of others.
 
BunnyKillBot said:
...
I know what you mean and I understand why you said it.

But ignorance of ethics, chosen or otherwise, do not justify the means.

The red pill and the blue pill represent the en-mass shared delusion we all face in the rat race of social evolution. Decide for yourself, are you content to benefit directly from the misery and suffering of others.
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How do you realistically avoid it? Having a bank account is generally required by everyone these days.... What unethical behavior in particular are you attempting to avoid and what are you happy to accept?

You can't avoid it realistically...
 
I like First Direct's service, but I dont need to use it very frequently. Their products and online services have stood still for years now, so I'm looking around for something better.
 
BDEE said:
Strange post is strange.

You do realise Lloyd's I effect DID go bust - they did not have the required capital to service their obligations - hence were subject to a huge government bail out. Without it, they would have gone under. Government didn't force them to do anything - they made a business decision. Great you like your bank, but weird to say you trust them for not going bust when they needed the government to stop them from doing so.
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Not my opinion - it's what was in the papers at the time.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/...own-broke-Lloyds-and-it-should-break-him.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...aved-HBOS-without-need-for-Lloyds-merger.html

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/07/hbos-collapse-lessons-disastrous-rescue

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/sep/18/lloydstsbgroup.firsttim******s
 
BunnyKillBot said:
I find it incredibly depressing nobody but one in this thread seems to give a damn about ethical practice :( It's not left wishy-washiness, it's about giving your money to institutions that use it responsibly. How can people in one breath complain about the banks screwing everybody over, then in the next hand over their cash to the cause of the problem.
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Is there really an ethical bank though?

The Co-Op Bank was seen as ethical, as it's part of the Co-Op Group. But then it was revealed last year about the head of the bank being on meth, crack cocaine and ketamine... he was into rent boys... and had previously resigned from being a Labour councillor after they found pr0n on his computer.
And then it was revealed that the whole Co-Op group (supermarket, funerals, etc) was funding the Labour Party and sponsoring loads of Labour MPs. Had they told their customers that's where the money was spent? I just want an ethical loaf of bread - if I want to fund a certain political party I'll do it myself thanks. Soft loans to the tune of £18 million with interest charges below the market rate. £50,000 for Ed Balls new office, etc etc etc.

And then last week it was announced that the Co-op Group's losses for 2013 are expected to be greater than £2bn, by far the worst in its history. So does ethical banking even work?
 
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