Andrew Tyrie slams CMA over free banking “con trick”
A leading Tory MP has slammed the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report on retail banking, saying its conclusions are “going to take a lot of justifying”.
Andrew Tyrie, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee, said free-if-in-credit (FIIC) accounts are a “con trick” and it was “disappointing” that the CMA decided not to end the accounts: “It seems reasonable that millions of customers should be allowed to know how much they are being charged for having a bank accounts.”
Tyrie said that his committee would take evidence from the CMA next month, and would “also want to examine carefully the arguments adduced in the report against breaking up one or more of the big banks to secure more competition”.
The CMA said today that it had provisionally decided against ending FIIC accounts or breaking up larger banks because it saw “no convincing evidence” that either recommendation would boost competition in the sector.
Tyrie was not the only individual to attack the CMA, whose recommendations were also criticised by the likes of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the EEF.
The CMA is set to issue a final report on current accounts and business banking in May 2016.