Study: 37% of Britons would consider leaving 'big five' banks

A large proportion of Britons will look into the possibility of ending their association with one of the UK's five biggest banks when switching accounts becomes easier later this year.

That is according to new research conducted by Simon Kucher & Partners, which has established that 37 per cent of customers at Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds and Santander are considering changing to a newer alternative such as Virgin Money in the near future.

As of September 2013, banks will be required to participate in the Seven-Day Switching programme, which will mean consumers can move their current account within a week.

And it seems that many people are thinking about taking advantage of this reform to switch to a "challenger" organization from one of the established names in the banking sector.

Ben Snowman, author of the study, said: "The dominance of the big five is set to be challenged by more competition on the high street and the greater ease and speed of switching."

By Claire Archer