Times are changing and the face of British banking is soon going to be unrecognisable from its previous incarnation.
Not only is this the year that Santander stamp their name firmly on our highstreets (Alliance & Leicester are next in line for a rebranding). But, after the unprecedented number of mergers, takeovers and rescues that's narrowed the number of banks and building societies operating in the UK considerably, 2010 looks like it's going to be the year we welcome a host of new brands into British banking.
The familiar faces:
Virgin Money - who already provide financial products 'to the masses' - took their first step towards high street banking in January when they bought out a small private bank. They now have their banking licence and plan to become a major player before 2010 is out.
Tesco are already licenced to offer banking facilities by the FSA and are looking to get in on the action too. According to reports they plan to roll out in-store branches later this year.
Both banks are planning to expand their already extensive range of financial products so as to encompass mortgages and current accounts too; that's in addition to the savings, investment, insurance and other borrowing facilities they already have available.
Interestingly, while both brands have the customer recognition in place to give the big, established banks a run for their money from the offset. They also(apparently!) intend to raise the bar on customer service too; something that will no doubt get the big banks quaking and customers flocking if they manage to deliver.
That's not all though; waiting in the wings are a number of new banks that, providing their FSA licence requests get the go ahead, promise to revolutionise the customer banking experience entirely.
The new recruits:
Metro Bank is the front-runner and, assuming the FSA grant their licence, look set to open their first two branches in central London within the next month. Once they're established they plan to expand their network rapidly, with 200 new branches planned for the next 10 years.
While that may sound ambitious for a start up, Metro Bank say that they, as a brand, are going to bring back 'old fashioned banking' and give their prospective customers the services, facilities and personal service they actually want from their bank.
Reports suggest their offering will be largely based on a branch network with convenient opening hours (8am - 8pm plus weekends), customer toilets and knowledgable staff.
On paper at least Metro Bank certainly sound like a breath of fresh air, but the proof will be in the pudding. They'll need to deliver on both their consumer-centric promises and product offerings if they want to get customers through the door and, more importantly, keep them loyal for the long haul.
Walton & Co is another newcomer waiting for FSA approval. They already have the funding in place to make their mark on high street banking, but are apparently waiting on the FSA's licencing decision before they make their ambitious plans public. If all goes according to plan and their proposal gets the go ahead they should make a noticeable addition to British banking.
It's looking probable that a number of other smaller banks that have yet to go public with their intentions will appear over the next 12 months. As the FSA are notoriously secretive about any banking licence applications that are currently under review, very little information is available at this stage but rest assured we'll keep you posted.
The expectations:
Regardless, whether it's 2 or 20 new banks that materialise, there's no doubt that an injection of fresh blood into the UK banking industry can only be a good thing. It will boost competition both in terms of the rates on offer and (if the new additions live up to their promises) the level of service we can expect from the people we choose to look after our money.
While we're not setting our expectations too high, there's at least a chance that a new era of customer focused banking is about to begin.
