HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Julius Report Aims to Give Bank Consumers a Better Deal [July 2001]
The press release issued by HM Treasury on 9 July 2001.
Better consumer services in banking and other financial services are the focus of a Government commissioned report published today.
Responding to the DeAnne Julius led review of banking services codes, Economic Secretary Ruth Kelly said:
“The report contains a number of useful recommendations directed at significantly improving competition and increasing the levels of customer service in banking services.
“We are therefore asking the bodies to whom the recommendations are directed to respond to these proposals. We look forward to the industry responding positively to the challenges that have been set.”
DeAnne Julius said:
“While we found that there is much to commend about the current system of self-regulation through voluntary codes, we believe there are several areas where more should be done to help bank customers and sharpen competition.
“Our Group developed its recommendations after an extensive consultation process. We believe the recommendations would help the market for banking services work more effectively and thereby deliver greater consumer benefits.”
The Banking Services Consumer Codes Review Group has set out twelve recommendations to improve the benefits to consumers from the industries’ voluntary codes of conduct. The recommendations include:
- measures to make account switching easier
- improve information provided to customers
- strengthen the processes for drawing up codes
- more information on code compliance
The Government is asking those to whom the recommendations are directed to respond to the report by 30 September.
