Business

Top Northern Ireland banks lose 2,000 customers

&nbsp;<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; ">The Current Account Switch Service launched in 2013</span>
 The Current Account Switch Service launched in 2013  The Current Account Switch Service launched in 2013

NORTHERN Ireland's two biggest banks lost more than 2,000 customers between them in the first quarter of the year according to the latest figures.

Ulster Bank saw a net loss of 1,409 current accounts over the three months while Danske lost 745 customers.

The numbers only cover switches made using the Current Account Switch Service run by Bacs.

The figures are provided voluntarily and do not include switches that took place outside the service, so do not represent all switches.

AIB Group (UK) which includes First Trust and Allied Irish Bank GB ended the quarter with 837 fewer current accounts.

And Bank of Ireland was down 590 customers.

The biggest gain was made by Halifax (47,421) followed by Nationwide (28,253).

At the other end of the scale, NatWest sustained a net loss of 22,394 current accounts over the period.

The switch service, which is free to use, was launched in 2013 in a bid to make changing current account provider easier.