Lloyds and Bank of Scotland suspend packaged account sales

Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland have suspended telephone and branch sales of packaged bank accounts from next year, according to the Financial Times.

The banks’ move comes after the Financial Services Authority strengthened its rules on the accounts, requiring banks to write to customers explaining their eligibility for insurance sold as part of the accounts.

Fears have been raised that packed accounts could spark the next mis-selling scandal, with customers paying for services they are unable to receive.

Lloyds Banking Group told the FT the move was not motivated by mis-selling fears but the need to harmonise sales across its different brands.

‘Embedding this change properly across our business will require us to update our systems, and amend the sales process and training we provide to colleagues,’ it said. ‘We are committed to offering packaged accounts as we believe they offer real value to our customers, which is why we expect to fully re-enter the market later in 2013.’