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LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - More than 1.2 million Britonsswitched bank accounts in the first year of new rules making iteasier to change banks, a 22 percent increase on the previousyear and marking some progress in the government's drive toboost competition.
Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, and theBritish arm of Santander attracted the most net newaccounts in the first quarter of this year, according to datareleased by the Payments Council.
NatWest, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC had the biggest net losses.
The new rules, introduced last October, ensure customers canswitch accounts within seven working days, with all outgoing andincoming payments automatically transferred.
Industry sources have said the increase in switching has notbeen as significant as hoped, however, and the annual tallystill represents only just over 2 percent of about 54 millionactive current accounts.
The Payments Council, which is responsible for the accountswitching service, said 1.2 million people switched in the yearto the end of September, up from 985,600 in the previous year.
The move to make it easier to switch is part of a range ofmeasures designed to break the dominance of Britain's fivebiggest banks -- Lloyds, RBS, Barclays, HSBC and Santander UK --which provide more than three-quarter of all UK personal currentor checking accounts.
Data on individual lenders was six months in arrears.Halifax attracted a net gain of 41,558 customers between Januaryand March, Santander UK had a net gain of 37,316 and buildingsociety Nationwide gained 11,680, the Payments Council said.
NatWest had a net loss of 18,258 customers, Barclays lost16,467, HSBC lost 15,429 and the Lloyds Bank brand lost 15,202. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Mark Potter)
