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UK: Watchdog gets teeth into overdraft fees

By  |  November 3, 2016

The City watchdog is to launch an investigation into overdrafts, signalling it could reverse the competition regulator’s decision earlier this year not to impose limits on charges.

The Competition and Markets (CMA) Authority published a raft of measures in August aimed at shaking-up the retail banking market but has faced criticism that the findings of its two-year probe would fail to do enough to break the vice-like grip of the big lenders on the high-street.

The competition regulator’s decision that banks set their own maximum monthly charges on overdrafts, instead of regulators imposing a cap, came in for particular criticism.

However, the Financial Conduct Authority said today that it planned an investigation on overdrafts that would go “beyond the scope of the CMA’s recommendations”, as part of a broader inquiry into high cost loans.

Full Content: Telegraph

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