UK current account switches totalled 499,801 in the first half of 2018, up 7% compared to the same period last year); 226,331 switches were completed in the second quarter of 2018.

In the 12 month period to end June 2018 there were 965,317 current account switches. This equates to a 6% increase compared to the previous 12 months when 909,186 switches took place.

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The latest figures are welcome and reverse a decline evidenced in full year figures for 2017.

Total switches in 2017 amounted to 931,956, down 8% from 1,010,423 in 2016.

Current account switches by brand are published in arrears; in the fourth quarter of 2017 the two biggest gainers were Clydesdale and Nationwide, potentially as a result of highly competitive switch incentives offered by both.

Current account switches: the winners

Clydesdale offered £250 to new customers, and Nationwide offering £100 for the new switcher and a friend. Other brands seeing net gains during the final three months of 2017 included Halifax, HSBC, Tesco and TSB, all of which offered various competitive propositions, including switching incentives and reward accounts.

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In the first quarter of 2018 Halifax was the biggest gainer, closely followed by Nationwide and HSBC, which have all continued to provide competitive offerings.

The figures for the first quarter of 2018 also sees data included for the new challenger bank Starling, which has already experienced significant net gains.

Current account switches: the losers

In the six months period to end March, Barclays was the biggest loser, down a net 33,000 customers. Other losers included Cooperative Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, down by 22,000 and 20,000 respectively over the same period.

Santander has suffered a net loss of account switchers since it raised the price of its 123 product. For the six months period to end March, Santander was down a net 18,000.