Banking review This questionnaire looks at the barriers to entry, expansion and exit in retail banking from the viewpoint of the SME. All information is completely confidential and will be used in aggregated form only by the OFT. The OFT is interested in learning more about how businesses use SME banking services and what they look for in a provider. The first few questions are about your principal banking relationship; this is defined as the bank with which you hold your current account and that handles the majority of your turnover.   With which bank/building society do you hold your principal banking relationship?     Allied Irish Bank (including Post Office brand)   Natwest Bank of Ireland   Royal Bank of Scotland Barclays   Santander (Alliance and Leicester, Abbey and Bradford and Bingley brands) Clydesdale Bank   Ulster Bank HSBC   Yorkshire Bank Lloyds (including Halifax, Bank of Scotland)   Other bank/building society Nationwide     What is the name of the other supplier     What banking products and services do you hold with them?   Business current account   Commercial mortgages   Insurance Savings/deposit account   Factoring/invoice discounting services   Credit/debit cards Overdrafts   Asset financing   Cash flow and credit control support Term loans   Money transmission services   Other key products   What are the other key products?     When choosing your current principal banking relationship provider, what was the main criteria you used?     Which of the following criteria did you use to choose this provider?   Already had a personal account with them   You held previous accounts with them/past experience Location - was the closest to your business premises   You were recommended to them by a business acquaintance It offered the best prices   The bank has specialist experience It offered the services you needed   Quality of relationship with manager It had a strong reputation   Do not know   Have you always banked with the bank with which you currently have your principal banking relationship   Yes, it has always been the principal bank Yes, we have always had relationship but it has not always been the principal banking provider No

When did you start banking with your current provider with whom you have your principal banking relationship?   Fewer than six months ago   Between one and two years ago   Three years to a decade ago Between six months and one year   Between two and three years ago   More than a decade ago   Which lender did you previously use as your principal bank?   Allied Irish Bank (including Post Office brand)   Lloyds (including Halifax Bank of Scotland)   Ulster Bank Bank of Ireland   Nationwide   Yorkshire Bank Barclays   Natwest   Other bank/building society Clydesdale Bank   Royal Bank of Scotland   HSBC   Santander (Alliance and Leicester, Abbey and Bradford and Bingley Brands)     What is the other supplier(s)     What was your motivation(s) for switching principal provider?   New bank had lower prices   Offered free banking   Changed ownership of new bank Better service at new bank   Old bank manager not accessible e.g lack of contact   Old bank too rigid Poor relationship with old bank/their staff   Higher rates of interest on credit balances at new bank   Your business account was actively sought by another bank Old bank refused to provide a service/product e.g loan   Better location of new bank   Other Errors by old bank   Individual at old bank moved on     What is the other motivation for switching supplier?     How many suppliers did you consider?   One   Two   Three or more   Do not know   How long did it take you to switch your account?   I have kept the old account   Less than a month   More than three months Less than a week   Between one and three months   Do not know

What sort of information was required when moving provider?     How easy was it to switch suppliers?   Very Easy   Easy   Difficult   Very difficult   Do not recall   Approximately what was the cost of switching?   £0   £100 to £500   Over £1,000 Under £100   £500 to £1,000   Do not know   What, if any, problems did you encounter?     What was the motivation for not switching provider?   Still considering  - not decided yet   Current bank revised their services/rates/resolved their problems Current bank offers better prices/charges/fees   Good relationship with current bank/no need to change Did not find any better deals elsewhere   Not got around to it to switching Too much disruption to payments during the switching process   Location of current account is convenient Too much disruption to payments during the switching process   May find it difficult to open an account elsewhere Would take too long/cost too much to switch   Did not think it would make any difference Too complicated/too much hassle to switch   Other   What is the other reason?

Other banking relationships   What other banks do you use alongside your principal bank?   No other banks   Nationwide Allied Irish Bank (including Post Office brand)   Natwest Bank of Ireland   Royal Bank of Scotland Barclays   Santander (Alliance and Leicester, Abbey and Bradford and Bingley brands) Clydesdale Bank   Ulster Bank HSBC   Yorkshire Bank Lloyds (including Halifax Bank of Scotland)   Other bank/building society   What is the other bank/building society?     What banking products and services do you hold with them?   Business current account   Asset financing Savings/deposit account   Money transmission services Overdrafts   Insurance Term loans   Credit/debit cards Commercial mortgages   Cashflow and credit control support Factoring / invoice discounting services   Other key products   What is the other bank/building society?     What are the main reasons for using multiple banks?   You choose each banking product from the bank that offers you the best deal You previously had a principal relation with another bank and did not transfer across your additional  products to your new principal relationship bank Your existing provider does not offer a full suite of business products Spread of risk between a number of financial institutions Current provider refused to provide additional finance Other   What is the other reason(s)?     What are the reasons for banking with one bank/building society?   Too much hassle having products with multiple banks My existing provider insists on an exclusive banking relationship Never thought about it More likely to get additional finance if needed Other   What is the other reason for banking with one building society?

Banking services in general   Do you have any experience of banks unilaterally deciding to withdraw banking services or products to you?   Yes   No   Do not know   What products/services were withdrawn?     What  was the banks justification?   No reason given   Product or service was too costly Poor credit rating   Branch closing down Lack of demand   Other reason   What is the other reason?     How satisfied are you with the banking services you currently enjoy?   Very satisfied   Neutral   Very unsatisfied Satisfied   Unsatisfied   Do not know   Why do you think that?

Company information   Company name     Is you business a ....?   Sole trader   Partnership   Limited liability company   Other   Please state other type of business     How would you describe you business?   Agriculture, fishing or forestry   Transport, storage or communications   Financial services   Other Manufacturing   Retail or wholesale   Business services   Construction   Hotels and restaurants   Personal services     What is you annual turnover for the last account year?   Under £100,000   £100,000 to £1,000,000   £1,000,001 to £5,000,0000   £5,000,001 to £25,000,000   Over £25,000,000   Number of employees at the business?   0   1 to 9   10 to 49   50 to 249   Postcode (first half e.g. ST7 only)     Contact person