For Steve O'Connell, financial loyalty has paid off.

He opened an account with Abbey National when he left university, stayed when it was taken over by Santander and is now earning cashback with its 123 current account.

Steve, who lives in Edinburgh and works for an investment company, said: "I didn't move on as I never had any issues in terms of service.

"This time last year, my wife Karen and I were taking out a mortgage so we opened a joint 123 account to get cashback on our payments and utilities.

"We have a £200 overdraft agreed to give us a buffer, and there's a £2-a-month account fee, but it has more than paid for itself over the 12 months."

Karen, who was previously with one of the other big providers, is now moving all her banking to Santander. Steve said: "The guys in our local branch are fantastic and it's so easy to switch."