IF only to take new savings accounts

Posted in 'Personal Finance' by Richard Catlin

28 August 2008

Intelligent Finance – more commonly known as IF.com - is to stop offering the vast majority of its products to new customers.

As part of a shake-up by owners HBOS, no new credit cards, current accounts or personal loans will be offered to customers, and the number of mortgage products it offers will be dramatically cut back.

The move will see over 400 people lose their jobs across the UK – the latest blow to the financial market which has suffered considerable losses in the wake of the credit crunch. HBOS said that it plans for Intelligent Finance to concentrate on the savings market –an area that perhaps surprisingly has seen good levels of growth in the current economic downturn.

HBOS has said that existing IF.com customers would not be affected by the move, but at the same time refused to rule out migrating IF.com customers to one of its other brands – possibly Halifax or Bank of Scotland.

It remains to be seen whether existing IF.com customers will react to the narrowed range of services now available to them and move to secure a better deal with another lender offering a wider range of services. Certainly there is no shortage of much better offers if IF.com customers do decide to switch.

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