HSBC has said that it backs the OFT’s view that customers have seen great improvements in transparency and the range of options available to them in recent years.

The report by the OFT revealed that, since 2007, average unpaid item charges have halved from £34 to £17, and that per item transaction charges had fallen from £30 to £22.

The bank has also supported calls for even greater transparency and easy, simple accessibility to accounts.

From 26 April, a new account, the HSBC Bank Account Pay Monthly, will be introduced, including an overdraft limit that cannot be exceeded unless a higher limit has been formally agreed beforehand.

The new account will cost £15 per month, and cater to those customers who prefer a high level of control, as opposed to those who opt for HSBC’s other, more flexible accounts.

In addition to this, HSBC is the only bank whose ATMs warn customers if a withdrawal will lead to them exceeding their limit.

Since 2007, average unpaid item charges have fallen from £34 to £17, with per item transaction charges declining from £30 to £22.

In addition, most PCA providers now utilise Faster Payments for one-off payments and standing orders.

Banks have improved transparency, and have committed themselves to making it easier to change accounts.

The OFT has also welcomed a number of new, industry-wide commitments by the banking sector, including providing consumers with enhanced control and better access to real time information regarding their accounts.

If competition and change do not yield the improvements the OFT expects and hopes to see in the next two years, the organisation will take further steps to rectify the situation, including recommending new legislation, if necessary.

OFT Chief Executive John Fingleton has said that the organisation’s focus on personal current accounts has already led to substantial changes for the better and that the OFT would continue to keep its eye on the situation to make sure improvements continue into the future.

The news follows that from yesterday, when the Government announced it is to provide a fairer deal for credit card customers by giving them rights to reject higher credit limits and object to increased rates on existing debts.

In February eight out of 10 consumers described themselves as either regular or occasional savers, a rise that may be due to the corresponding increase in consumer confidence.

The last Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index saw a six point rise in confidence to 80, the highest since January 2008.

Head of Savings Andy Hutchinson has forecast that the building society will see more and more savers opening or topping up ISAs.

Hutchinson has urged savers to take the opportunity to beat the tax man and utilise their tax-free ISA allowance for the year, adding that estimates suggest ISAs save consumers £680m every year.

Last month Nationwide launched its new ISA range, including the Champion ISA, which pays up to 2.50% gross p.a./AER variable, and the e-ISA, paying 2.75% gross p.a./AER variable, as well as a number of fixed rate ISAs.

The deadline for those completing a disclosure on paper passed on 31st January and HMRC expects online participants in the amnesty to pay all outstanding tax, plus a 10% penalty, by Friday.

From then on, the penalty reverts to a maximum 100% of any unpaid tax.

The first such amnesty took place in 2007, when £450 million was raised by targeting offshore accounts provided by five major UK banks.

Around 45,000 people paid their dues but the outcome was generally thought to have been disappointing.

The largest single payment under the scheme was £3 million and the average, £9,000.

However, the Government has since asked for details of at least 100,000 offshore accounts held at over 300 financial institutions and in his pre-Budget report, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announced plans to raise the maximum penalty for tax-shy offshore savers to 200% of tax owed.

Older generations are less knowledgeable than younger ones, presumably because of the change to allowances which affects only the over 50s.

A third of the over 50s erroneously believe that their cash ISA limit is £3,600, with a fifth believing it, wrongly, to be £1,800.

The CFS research also indicates that the over 50s are more likely than younger savers to take advantage of ISAs and to invest lump sums, but are less likely to save regularly.

CFS Retail MD Rod Bulmer has said that the firm’s research indicates good awareness amongst of the over 50s of the nature and advantages of ISAs, but less certainty regarding the new, increased threshold.

This echoes the findings of Brewin Dolphin, which has reported a record year for ISA uptake, despite some doubts over the precise details of the changed allowance, with the equity ISA seeing particular interest.

From then on, customers of the nationalised bank will be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which currently offers protection of up to £50,000 per individual.

Anyone opening an account before the deadline will automatically come under the FSCS.

The enhanced guarantee came into existence in autumn 2007, when Northern Rock came close to collapse and savers began queuing up to withdraw their cash in what became the first run on a UK bank in over a century.

Since then the lender has been split into one good and one bad back.

The less attractive elements of its mortgage book have been separated out from its retail deposits, which now form part of the soon to be auctioned Northern Rock PLC.

The bank’s rivals will be pleased to hear that the 100% guarantee is being lifted as it raises competition issues, although deposits with National Savings and Investments remain fully government protected.

The Champion ISA will be available to new and existing customers from any Nationwide branch, with the core rate set as the average from branch-based cash ISAs from a basket of eight key competitors.

Until the end of June next year the Champion ISA will also include a fixed introductory bonus of 1.35% gross p.a. for balances exceeding £1,000.

The firm is also launching the e-ISA, paying 2.75% gross p.a./AER variable, as well as a number of fixed rate ISAs.

The e-ISA is available online to existing Nationwide customers and, like the Champion ISA, includes a fixed introductory bonus of 1.00% gross p.a until the end of June 2011.

The fixed rate ISAs include the three year Fixed Rate ISA, paying 4.4% gross p.a./AER.

With interest rates at record lows, ISAs have proved more popular than ever recently, and Brewin Dolphin has reported a record year for ISA subscriptions.

The news follows the increase of the ISA limit, with Brewin Dolphin witnessing investments of £161m compared to £75m for the same time last year.

This comes despite the National Savings & Investments’ findings that a quarter are unaware of the increased limit and only 15% of those eligible taking advantage of the change.

Brewin Dolphin is seeing particular interest in the equity ISA, with low interest rates encouraging investors to consider stocks and shares rather than cash options.

Head of Corporate Affairs Charlotte Black has said that there has never been a better time for investing, with ISAs offering interest free savings in either cash or stocks and shares and an increased limit for the over 50s.

When the increased limit for the over 50s was announced in September Brewin Dolphin criticised the Government for limiting the increase to a certain age group, stating it was churlish.

ISAs were introduced in 1999 to replace TESSAs and PEPs and not surprisingly, the South East has the highest proportion of households with an ISA, at 44%.

The proportion is marginally higher than in the East of England (43%) and the South West (42%) and contrasts sharply with Northern Ireland’s 18%, the lowest ISA occurrence in the UK.

The number of accounts in existence has risen 53% since 1999/00, with strongest growth among the under 25s and fastest growth among female savers.

Between 1999/00 and 2006/07 Scotland was home to the largest percentage increase in the number of ISA savers, at 57%.

Last year, cash accounted for 58% of the value of all ISA savings compared with 42% in stock and shares.

The amount invested in cash ISAs increased by 5% in 2009, to £169 billion, and the value of cash ISA savings has risen eleven-fold in real terms since the first anniversary of their introduction, according to Halifax.

The findings also show that three in five women intend to spend less on clothing in 2010 and four in ten less on fashion accessories and eating out.

The continuing difficulties of the economy, which scraped out of recession with anaemic growth of 0.1% in Q4 of 2009, have led to 75% of women planning on spending less and saving more.

Food, wine and presents for others top the list of items that women are still willing to spend on despite economic anxiety.

Director of Retail Products John Hughes has said that the research reveals a much savvier approach by women towards spending and saving, including paying greater attention to their bank statements.

The research follows similar work by the Nationwide, which found that consumers saved less during December, and 25% of people saved nothing at all.