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Banks lure graduates with great deals - [BACK] If you have just graduated from university you may be surprised to find out that banks value your custom higher than almost everyone else's. However worrying the state of your student debt ravaged finances may seem you should be heartened that, at this early stage in your banking life, all the major high street banks will be eager to get you on board. The reason is fairly obvious - once young individuals set up an account with a bank more often than not they'll remain loyal to that bank for years. Banks can sadly rely on the fact that their customers, whether through laziness or apathy, are unlikely to shop around for alternatives. It's a bizarre form of brand loyalty that often means banks can get away with offering non-competitive financial products to existing customers who will none the less buy into them without even considering their options. The good news is that with the potential of a lifetime of lucrative custom at stake, the major banks are often willing to appeal to young account-holders with student and graduate accounts that offer significantly better terms than a normal bank account. Anyone who's just graduated should seize the moment and evaluate their options - don't fall into the trap of sticking with your current bank for the sake of convenience, the fact is there are loads of good graduate accounts out there so you may as well play the field. The item that ought to be top of any graduate's requirements is an account that offers a high interest-free overdraft. The best deals available at the time of writing were offering a £2000 interest free overdraft in the first year (The RBS current account and the Natwest current account for graduates both offer £2000 interest free for the first year although the RBS account offers the better long term deal with year two and three at £1500 and £1000 respectively compared to £1000 and £500). If you chose a decent graduate account that maintains a decent 0% interest overdraft for the duration of the full 3 years (some accounts offer a one year interest-free overdraft only, HSBC doesn't offer one at all). You may potentially save yourself hundreds of pounds whilst ensuring you have an all important buffer and the option to pay off debts. The one thing to remember however is not to fall into the trap of staying with the same bank after your graduate account expires. It really is worth the small effort of consistently reassessing your situation, comparing your deal with other options on the market (there are numerous comparison sites out there, Beatthatquote.com for instance have comparison tables for everything from loans to car insurance) and not being afraid to change. [BACK] |