Citizens Advice says "stronger measures" need to be kept as options if the current bank reforms suggested by The Competition and Markets Authority, external don't work.

Six in ten people haven't changed bank accounts for over a decade.

The Federation of Small Businesses says the bank reforms are a "promising step" and should be put into action swiftly.

At the moment only 4% of its members switch bank accounts each year.  

The changes should help more companies switch banks to get better deals, the FSB said. It also welcomed greater support for businesses affected by branch closures.

Competition and Markets Authority chairman Alasdair Smith explains:

Consumer body Which? says it's questionable if the actions outlined in the report will be enough to make banks deliver a better service for customers. 

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Getty Images

Will the report help so called challenger banks, newcomers to the sector, which are competing with the dominance of the big four banks: Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and RBS?

Paul Rippon, deputy chief executive of challenger Mondo Bank, isn't totally convinced.

"There's a big question over how long these reforms will take to come in and how effective they will be," he says. 

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The Competition and Markets Authority is pushing "open banking" as the way of overcoming our reluctance to change bank accounts. 

Alasdair Smith, chair of the watchdog's Retail Banking Investigation, tells Today that this would involve people and small firms managing their finances through one app. 

One example he gives is the app could then tell someone regularly using their overdraft how to make savings. 

"This will radically change the relationship between banks and the customers, giving all of us much better advice about managing our finances," he claims.

Image source, Reuters

Insurance firm Standard Life has hailed "good progress" for the first half of the year despite volatile market conditions. 

The firm says assets under management grew 7%, driven by market gains for some of its investments. 

Total assets under management were £328bn, up from £307.4bn at the end of December. 

"Despite elevated uncertainty we are benefiting from our strong long-term relationships with a broad range of clients and customers who reacted in different ways to the changing market environment," says chief executive Keith Skeoch.

Image source, PA

The Competition and Markets Authority has released its long-awaited report into the UK's banks, external.

It's announced a package of reforms it says will "shake up retail banking for years to come" and ensure customers and small businesses "get a better deal".

The UK's big banks don't have to compete hard enough for customers, the report found.

Among the changes to tackle this will be:

• A single app for customers to view multiple bank accounts
• Information from banks on the quality of their website and branch services
• Prompts when banks close branches or change account charges

Andreas Illmer
Business reporter in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

And now for something completely different: New Zealand’s sheep to people ratio. 

Sure, Kiwis are still outnumbered by sheep but a lot less than they used to be. In fact, the number of sheep has dropped to its lowest since the 1930s. 

There are only seven sheep for each New Zealander and that’s down from 22 in 1982.

The reason for those dwindling numbers? For one, farmers reduced their stock because of unusually dry weather conditions; another reason was a widespread problem of facial eczema the sheep suffered from. 

Overall, the total number of sheep dropped by 3% to 28.25 million from the previous year. In 1982, there were still more than 70 million... 

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Image source, Thinkstock

July retail sales were the strongest since January, according to the British Retail Consortium and KPMG's latest survey.

The results have bucked fears of a post-Brexit slump. 

Helen Dickinson, director general of trade body the British Retail Consortium, says the survey highlights the difference between confidence surveys which monitor mood and those which track spending.

"There's a difference between what people are feeling and what they actually do. This is the results of actual spending patterns during the course of the month," she says.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, PA

Competition between banks is most likely to come from the likes of Apple and Google, says Diane Coyle, a professor at Manchester University and formerly of the Competition Commission. 

The big four UK banks - Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS  - have such advantages that so-called challenger banks have made little headway, she tells Wake Up to Money.

"Not much is going to change" after a major report into banking out this morning, she says, and instead we're "relying on new technology to do the competition for us".

"In the absence of the regulators actually looking at the structure of the industry seriously, I will be waiting for the Apples or the Googles to come along with a more compelling product," Professor Coyle says.

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Six in ten of us have had our account with the same bank for more than ten years. 

Today's major report from the Competition and Markets Authority will look at why that is and how it can shake up the existing marketplace to help customers get a better deal.

Alex Neill from consumer organisation Which? says it's hard for customers to work out what's a good deal.

"Banks don't have to work hard for their customers and competitive pressures are pretty weak. 

"There are better deals to be had by moving around, but people find switching really complicated. They are worried and think it may go wrong," she tells the Today programme.

Indian central bank Governor Raghuram Rajan, who steps down this month, is due to announce his last interest rate decision later. No change is expected, but we'll let you know the outcome as soon as we have it. 

Business presenter Victoria Fritz tweets...

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, PA

Shoppers spent more in July than a year ago, according to two reports out overnight, defying predictions of a post-Brexit slump. 

Laura Lambie from Investec Wealth and Investment says the figures show there has been "limited fallout from the Brexit decision" on consumer spending. 

However, households are putting off spending on "large ticket items", she tells Wake up to Money. 

"That perhaps mirrors the research we've had on companies, which are very much more cautious" on bigger decisions like hiring, firing, investment, and order books.

Image source, AFP

Japanese shares have edged higher on Tuesday, managing to resist the negative trend set by Wall Street which fell on Monday.  

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged just slightly higher, gaining 0.4% in early afternoon trade. 

In China, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.3% higher. 

The country also released its latest inflation data this morning with the consumer price index (CPI) in line with market expectations, up 1.8% in July compared with a year earlier.