Santander 123 rate to be cut to 1.5%

You seem to be arguing with yourself! Rather than getting bogged down in more ridiculous verbal gymnastics, can I suggest a few simple logical facts would probably help:

Does the rate reduction make the 123 less attractive than before? Yes

Does this mean that some people will close their 123s? Yes

Does that mean that Santander are 'hurting'? Unlikely - they'll have lost some customers but will also have reduced their interest-paying liabilities substantially

Will some 123 holders have moved their money to regular savers? Yes

Does this mean that regular savers are the only 'rational' alternative? No!

Should all 123 holders close their accounts? No, unless there are better options for their own specific circumstances

eskbanker wrote: »

You seem to be arguing with yourself! Rather than getting bogged down in more ridiculous verbal gymnastics, can I suggest a few simple logical facts would probably help:

Does the rate reduction make the 123 less attractive than before? Yes

Does this mean that some people will close their 123s? Yes

Does that mean that Santander are 'hurting'? Unlikely - they'll have lost some customers but will also have reduced their interest-paying liabilities substantially

Will some 123 holders have moved their money to regular savers? Yes

Does this mean that regular savers are the only 'rational' alternative? No!

Should all 123 holders close their accounts? No, unless there are better options for their own specific circumstances

Well good to see that you finally answer your own questions ..
But you definitely wrong if you thing I am arguing with myself as I know myself more than anyone else.

One thing you might not be aware of someone here in this thread is arguing that Santander will end up with more customers despite increasing the fee, cutting interest rate.

Good if evidence could be presented rather than pointless argument. News from the newspaper might be meaningful ...

adindas wrote: »

One thing you might not be aware of someone here in this thread is arguing that Santander will end up with more customers despite increasing the fee, cutting interest rate.

That was my point yesterday after you chose to resuscitate this old thread - if you're trying to take issue with a particular poster making that specific argument then find it, quote it properly (i.e. naming the poster) and debate what was actually said in it without putting your words in other people's mouths.

Nobody (that I can see) is disputing that some customers will choose to leave Santander and go elsewhere (some to regular savers no doubt), but if you're making the specific assertion that "someone here in this thread is arguing that Santander will end up with more customers despite increasing the fee, cutting interest rate" then, rather than quoting posts that make a different point, why not find the one(s) that you're actually referring to?!

Incidentally, there are quarterly statistics published by BACS about volumes of current account switches, but these are six months in arrears, so the most recent ones (https://www.bacs.co.uk/DocumentLibrary/CASS_dashboard_-_published_25_Jan_17.pdf) relate to Q2 2016, when Santander were still making the biggest gains, despite this being after the monthly fee increase. I imagine that the Q3 16 figures published next month will start to show a downward trend for Santander, and probably more so once the Q4 16 figures come out. That's just supposition at this stage though, but if you think someone is claiming otherwise then it shouldn't be unduly onerous for you to identify who it is you want to debate it with!