It has been suggested by the Alliance and Leicester that small business owners can make their lives easier by carefully selecting the best bank to suit them, rather than just going for the nearest or most advertised.
The Alliance and Leicester head of Business Banking has said that choosing the right deal on a business bank account can make a real difference in the day to day running of the organisation. More money can be earned in interest, there can be easier access to funds and good communications can ease stress levels.
With these points in mind it may come as no surprise to hear that the Alliance and Leicester has been named as the current account provider of the year for business banking, an award it has now received for the last 6 years.
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 first half of 2008 has seen Lloyds TSB profits fall 70 percent compared with the same period last year, at GBP599 million.
The biggest cause of the reduced profit figures was a devaluation of the banks assets thanks to the global economic downturn. Taking this factor out of the equation Lloyds TSB has actually performed very well, especially in the retail banking sector. On this basis they actually increased their shareholder dividend, putting it up by 2 percent to 11.4 pence per share.
A Lloyds TSB spokesman, discussing the results, said that the bank was not directly associated with the American sub-prime market that collapsed so spectacularly and so has been quite well sheltered. The actual performance of the bank when their asset devaluations are removed has been an increase in pre tax profit of 11 percent, something that bodes very well for the future.