Natwest Bank has just announced its latest student current account offers, with interest free overdrafts, laptop savings and reduced rail fares all available.
This time of year sees all the major banks introducing their student offers, and the one from the Natwest Bank looks like a very good one. Of particular interest to students is the size of the overdraft, which starts at GBP1,250 with the Natwest, going up to GBP2,000 by year five. They are also offering a GBP100 discount of Asus laptops as well as GBP50 off 3 mobile broadband.
The Natwest current account for students also makes it easier for them to travel, with a railcard that can save over GBP120 per year on travel. For anyone thinking of signing up online do it before the end of October and the Natwest will throw in a Microsoft Lifecam as well as everything else they offer.
The Halifax has reported that the amount of pocket money given to children has fallen compared with last year. In 2007 the weekly amount was just over GBP8, though this has fallen to a little over GBP6 this year.
Parents will no doubt be feeling the pinch said a Halifax spokesperson, though in their defence they do still buy items such as mobile phones and ipods for their children. The best place for children to be is London, where the average pocket money is GBP8.47, followed by Scotland where they receive GBP8.20.
The lowest paying parents are found in the East Midlands, where GBP4.46 is the norm, closely followed by the south west of England where children receive an average of GBP4.58 according to the Halifax figures.
One of the largest banks in Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, is considering buying into Barclays Bank as they seek to raise GBP4 billion capital.
Sumitomo Mitsui is considering a 100 billion Yen investment, which would be around GBP500 million. Barclays also have serious interest from some other investors too and if everything goes as planned then the GBP4 billion needed will be achieved with money to spare.
An announcement is expected from Barclays Bank in the next week or so, though existing Barclays investors have to give their final approval before the deals can go ahead. Sumitomo Mitsui are certainly very keen on the deal since they have been finding it difficult to locate good investment opportunities in China.
