As first direct celebrates 25 years of putting customers first here’s 25 facts you may not know about the bank and financial facts you may not remember!
Leeds, England, 2-10-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Tracy Garrad, CEO of first direct comments: “The world of banking has changed beyond recognition in the 25 years since we launched on 1 October 1989 and started a service revolution. Our future will continue to be based around our customers – which is exactly how we started all those years ago.”
first direct facts
Financial facts
1989 | October 5 – Base rate hits 15% |
1990 | In 1990 the average Standard Variable Rate (SVR) for mortgages was 14.30% 1990 was the peak year for the number of cheques written (3.97 billion for the year which equates to 11 million per day) – by 2013 this had fallen to 2 million per day |
1991 | April 1991 CPI measure of inflation hits 8.5% |
1992 | 25 June – Midland Bank became a member of the HSBC Group in one of the biggest amalgamations of its time |
1993 | March 1993 – the threshold for stamp duty on residential property transactions increased from £30,00 to £60,000 |
1994 | November 1994 Best Buy 3 year fixed rate bond paid 8.30% (compared with sub 3% today) |
1995 | October 1995 – A 5 year fixed rate mortgage was 7.95% for an 80% LTV (double the rate for an equivalent mortgage today) |
1996 | December – Best Buy rate for a personal loan of £5,000 was 12.8% APR (compared with 5.3% APR today) |
1997 | Tony Blair’s Labour came to power in May 1997 and announced its intention to transfer full operational responsibility for monetary policy to The Bank of England |
1998 | Best Buy instant access savings rate 7.40% (compares with Best Buy rates of 1.50% today) |
1999 | ISAs introduced with max overall limit of £7,000 (max £3,000 in cash) |
2000 | MIRAS (Mortgage Interest Relief at Source) was withdrawn from 6 April 2000 |
2001 | There were 2.66 billion debit card transactions in 2001 (compared with 8.35 billion in 2013) Base rate was cut seven times between February and November in 2001 (down from 6% to 4%) |
2002 | There were 38,746 ATMs in the UK in 2002 (compared with 67,963 in 2013) |
2003 | 17 February – London Congestion charge is introduced |
2004 | The longest 0% credit card balance transfer term was 12 months (compared with 34 months today) |
2005 | January 2005 – UK unemployment was 1.45 million (compared with 2.68 million in Oct 2011 and 2.08 million in June 2014) |
2006 | Chip and PIN became mandatory from 14 February 2006 The OFT impose a maximum charge of £12 for credit card late/missed payments |
2007 | Contactless credit cards first launched in the UK 13 September – news breaks that Northern Rock sought emergency funding from the Bank of England – prompts the first run on a bank for more than a century |
2008 | 27 May – Faster Payments Service was launched |
2009 | In February the average house price had fallen 17.6% in a year to £147,746 5 March – base rate cut to 0.50%, its lowest ever |
2010 | The year of the sovereign debt crisis saw Greece rescued with a €110 billion package in May Inflation was more than 1% above the Bank of England’s 2% target for the whole of 2010 |
2011 | 1 November – the Junior ISA was launched |
2012 | Average of 87 purchases per year made per debit card (up from 53 in 2002) |
2013 | 1 July – Mark Carney succeeds Sir Mervyn King as Governor of the Bank of England |
2014 | ISA limit increased from £11,520 to £15,000 on 1 July and renamed NISA with flexibility to use the full limit for cash, investments or a mix of both Base rate has changed 72 times in the last 25 years |
Ends
For further information please contact Amanda.brown@firstdirect.com on 01132766700 or Rebecca.sykes@firstdirect.com on 01132766899.
*Note 1:
first direct has had a higher proportion of satisfied customers than other GB banks and building societies with a high street presence* since measurements began in 1998
Source: GfK NOP FRS, 12 months ending December data 1998 through to 2013 and year-to-date 2014. Main current account holders who are ‘extremely satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their current account overall.
*All major banks and building societies with a high street presence/branch network (where n>50)
Note 2:
first direct customers have been more likely to recommend their bank than customers at any other GB bank or building society with a high street presence* since measurements began in 2009
Source: GfK NOP FRS, 12 months ending December data 2009 through to 2013 and year-to-date 2014. Main current account holders NPS scores (NPS calculated % giving scores 9to10 – % giving scores 0to6 for likelihood to recommend main current account provider).
*All major banks and building societies with a High St presence/branch network (where n>50)
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