BRITAIN’S competition watchdog is likely to call for bank charges to be made clearer when it publishes the findings of an investigation into the industry this week, banking sources say.

    The Competition & Markets Authority has been investigating the market for personal current accounts and small business banking services since November last year and is due to publish its provisional recommendations Thursday.

    Lawmakers and regulators are keen to break the dominance of Britain’s “big five” banks — Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Barclays, HSBC and the British arm of Spain’s Santander — which control 85 percent of the personal current account market and provide more than 9 out of 10 loans to small businesses.

    However, the watchdog is expected to resist calls for big banks such as Lloyds and RBS to be broken up and will instead focus on pricing and measures to encourage switching between lenders and make it easier for new banks to compete.

    Executives at so-called “challenger” banks last week called for changes in the way banks charge for services.

    TSB chief executive Paul Pester said banks should be required to tell customers how much they’ve paid for their banking services each month.

    Pester said TSB’s internal research had suggested British banks make between 7 billion and 8 billion pounds (US$11-12 billion) each year from personal current accounts even though accounts are presented to customers as “free” and without monthly fees.

    The banks make money because interest rates on personal current accounts are often lower than the levels offered with savings accounts or the benchmark rate set by the Bank of England. Customers are also charged for going overdrawn without permission and for making certain transactions.(SD-Agencies)