Lloyd's withdrawing free accounts for community groups

penners324

retiredbanker1 said:

.....And they were a bu**er  to run - normally elderly signatories who died but other signatories did not inform bank etc then find they cannot access account due to not having sufficient signatories on the account - the mandate they gave the bank-- rant over!
Here's to an increased dividend in 2025.

The legacy banks make it very difficult to update those mandates and very difficult to make any changes to the way they're set up.

penners324

The sooner the newer banks like Starling & Monzo can offer their accounts to Community organisations the better.

Ergates

penners324 said:

TheBanker said:

penners324 said:

I recommend writing to the press and your MP.

It's the only way to shame the banks into continuing to operate fee free accounts for Community organisations.

HSBC did this 4 years ago, now Lloyds....

May I ask why you think these accounts should be free? They cost the bank money to operate. 

Why shouldn't banks operate free accounts for charities & Community groups?

All the hard work these organisations do in the community should not be degraded by banks unseemly profits. The banks make plenty of fees from big businesses

That doesn't really answer the question though.  It wasn't "why shouldn't they?", and it wasn't "why might they choose to?".

Should supermarkets also give free food to community organisations?   Should their electricity be free?

How does the bank tell the difference between organisations that work to support local communities and clubs which just serve the interests of their members? 

eskbanker

Banoose said:

The bank have our money. I presume they invest it .

No, not since the separation of retail banking from the investing arms, after the global financial crisis....

retiredbanker1

penners324 said:

The sooner the newer banks like Starling & Monzo can offer their accounts to Community organisations the better.

Why would they do this - it will increase their costs and all for (in the main) loss leading accounts?

onomatopoeia99

penners324 said:

The sooner the newer banks like Starling & Monzo can offer their accounts to Community organisations the better.

 Why don't they do it now?

onomatopoeia99

retiredbanker1 said:

.....And they were a bu**er  to run - normally elderly signatories who died but other signatories did not inform bank etc then find they cannot access account due to not having sufficient signatories on the account - the mandate they gave the bank-- rant over!
Here's to an increased dividend in 2025.

The organisation (actually a company limited by guarantee) I belong to which has a free banking account also has a "legal and compliance" officer on the committee (used to be the treasurer but we separated it into a separate post).  They keep on top of all issues like signatories on the account when committee members change at the AGM, ensuring the right people are registered as directors, accounts are submitted and audited (though we don't legally need an audit) etc etc.  Typically the post is held by an accountant.

Result is we never turn up at a branch complaining we can't access our bank account because someone has died.

Eco_Miser

Ergates said:

Should supermarkets also give free food to community organisations?  

I don't know about should but the fact is, they do.

TheBanker

penners324 said:

The sooner the newer banks like Starling & Monzo can offer their accounts to Community organisations the better.

I think the fact that they don't simply confirms that this type of account is a loss-making hassle for banks. If it were a profitable sector, there would be competition from the digital banks.

TheBanker

penners324 said:

TheBanker said:

penners324 said:

I recommend writing to the press and your MP.

It's the only way to shame the banks into continuing to operate fee free accounts for Community organisations.

HSBC did this 4 years ago, now Lloyds....

May I ask why you think these accounts should be free? They cost the bank money to operate. 

Why shouldn't banks operate free accounts for charities & Community groups?

All the hard work these organisations do in the community should not be degraded by banks unseemly profits. The banks make plenty of fees from big businesses

The £4.25 per month that Lloyds are charging (£8.50 for bigger organisations) probably just about covers the cost of operating the account - sending out statements, dealing with changes to signatories/officials including making sure all regulatory Anti-Money Laundering rules are met, processing deposits/payments out, dealing with ad-hoc queries etc - I doubt there's much if any profit in £51 per year. If the accounts stayed free, there would be cross-subsidy from the bank's other customers. Is his fair?

Also worth noting that not all these organisations do good for the community. My lad's youth football team have a bank account - why shouldn't they pay for it? They pay for pitch hire, they pay for their kit and equipment, they pay for their refreshments, they sometimes pay for minibus hire, they pay fees to be part of the league and to enter some competitions. Against this backdrop, why should their banking be subsidised?