Barclays Bank current account customers have been made aware of some changes to the bank accounts, including an overdraft service and some new accounts.
The new overdraft service is called Personal Reserve and replaces the existing unauthorised overdraft facility. An annual fee of GBP22 provides access to an additional overdraft for up to five days. This can be used as a safety net for Barclays Bank customers who go over their normal limit, protecting them from additional bank charges.
In addition five new Barclays current accounts have been introduced, offering alternatives from free in credit accounts to annual fee accounts with extra services and interest free overdraft options. The choice provided for the customer is growing explained a Barclays spokesman.
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.
The German retail banking arm of Citibank, part of the Citigroup financial giant, saw the number of interested German parties drop to one when Commerzbank withdrew from the race.
There is interest from outside Germany still, but within the borders of the country only Deutsche Bank remains an interested party. A couple of other big European players are looking at Citibank in Germany with interest, with a move expected before the end of the month. It continues what has been a turbulent time in the German banking market as a number of organisations have changed hands recently.
With around 3.25 million customers the German Citibank is expecting offers in the region of EUR4 to EUR5 billion, especially as it runs profitably and is one of the leaders in consumer financing, generating handsome returns.
