FCA confirms biggest shake-up to the overdraft market for a generation
Regulatory Updates | 07/06/19
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed (7 June 2019) it is introducing reforms to fix a dysfunctional overdraft market. These changes will make overdrafts simpler, fairer, and easier to manage and will protect the millions of consumers that use overdrafts, particularly more vulnerable consumers. The changes represent the biggest overhaul to the overdraft market for a generation.
In 2017, firms made over £2.4bn from overdrafts alone, with around 30% from unarranged overdrafts. More than 50% of banks’ unarranged overdraft fees came from just 1.5% of customers in 2016. People living in deprived areas are more likely to be impacted by these fees. In some cases, unarranged overdraft fees can be more than ten times as high as fees for payday loans.
