UK financial watchdog backs bank account 'portability'

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Allowing customers to keeptheir bank account number would encourage them to switch to arival lender, Britain's financial regulator said on Thursday.

Banks have said account number "portability" would be costlybut the Financial Conduct Authority has backed the idea.

"The FCA found that being able to keep bank account detailsincreases consumer confidence in the bank account switchingprocess and that a significant number of individual and smallbusiness customers would be more likely to switch if they couldretain their account details," the FCA said in a statement.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by Jason Neely)