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THE MONTH IN NUMBERS
The month in numbers… £610 MILLION…The Co-op Bank reported that its annual pre-tax losses increased from £264 million in
2014 to £610 million last year. The UK bank continues to suffer the consequences of shedding billions of pounds of toxic loans built up under its previous management. Total losses since the issue surfaced in 2012 stand at £2.16 billion, with more expected.
£45…The average UK card payment has fallen below £45 for the first time since 2002 as consumers increasingly
use cards instead of cash for lower value transactions, according to The UK Cards Association. Its Head of Policy, Richard Koch, says: “There has been a dramatic drop in the average value of card transactions in recent years. We are increasingly making lower-value internet purchases for digital content and subscriptions and now one in seven card transactions are made using contactless cards, it is a trend that we expect to continue.”
1,500…Number of staff (mostly in the retail division) cut so far this year by Royal Bank of Scotland. In April it
emerged that the FI is axing around 600 jobs in its UK retail bank, closing 34 High Street locations and reducing opening hours in many others.
Like many banks around the world, RBS, 73% owned by the UK government, is seeing more and more customers shift to online and mobile, and so claims fewer staff and locations are needed. It says that, over the past five years, the number of people visiting branches has dropped by half on average, while the number of customers going online has jumped four fold.
$940 MILLION…Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is to appeal a US Jury’s decision to fine it $940 million for
allegedly stealing trade secrets from software company Epic Systems. Epic, based in Wisconsin, had accused TCA of “brazenly stealing secrets, confidential documents and data”. It claimed that TCS acquired the insider information via employees at its American subsidiary, Tata American International Corporation. The theft was “masterminded in Mumbai, then carried out in India and the US” while TCS consulted for an Epic Systems customer, US healthcare group Kaiser Permanente.
“The jury’s verdict on liability and damages was unexpected as the company believes they are unsupported by the evidence presented during the trial,” TCS said in a statement. It plans to defend itself “vigorously in appeals to higher courts”. TCS added that this would have no effect on its fourth quarter and full-year results, due to be announced on 18 April.
THREE MILLION…Number of people moving banks since the UK’s Current Account Switch Service
(CASS) launched in September 2013. The initiative was praised by Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin, as she welcomed the news that March saw the highest switching volumes since it was introduced. The Minister also announced that the number of switches in the first part of 2016 grew by 20% over the last quarter of 2015.
She said: “Increasing competition in banking is part of the Government’s plan to ensure customers get a better deal. So I am delighted that the latest figures from the CASS show record levels of customers taking advantage of the service over the past three months. It is a service that truly works for customers, allowing them to vote with their feet and switch where they see a better deal – simply, reliably and quickly.”
Michael Chambers of Bacs (which operates and manages the CASS) said: “We’ve had almost three million switches since launch but we have to ask ourselves if volumes are the most important measure. I’d rather look at the higher levels of competition we’re now seeing in the market. If you look at service and consumer experience these are also important
www.ibsintelligence.com © IBS Intelligence 2016
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