I worked for a well known bank back in the 1970’s and I have to say banks have changed enormously since the 1980’s . Most now offer a full range of financial products and services ,for almost any situation .
MORTGAGES
All banks nowadays offer competitive Mortgages at relatively low interest rates . However these rates are prone to fluctuations as they are linked to the Bank of England’s base rate .
SAVINGS
There are many savings accounts .
High interest accounts which tie up your money for long periods and require a fairly high initial investment .
Traditional savings accounts .
ISA’s , which are Individual Savings Accounts . These were a government initiative which give a tax free amount of interest . You are only allowed to hold one of these accounts at a time and can only invest , each year ,up to the maximum that the government sets . This year it is 3000 . The year runs April-April .There a few different types of ISA’s and some are linked to the stock-market .
Really there are many other savings accounts and each bank has slight differences in the type of account and rates of interest .
CURRENT OR CHEQUE ACCOUNT
Most of us have our salaries paid into one of these accounts . Some of these offer interest and include a set amount of free overdraft . Usually you have a switch or debit card which enables you to draw on this account quickly and easily from a cash-point or pay for goods.
STOCKS AND SHARES
Banks nowadays offer share dealing services as a matter of course .
UNIT TRUSTS AND INVESTMENTS
A full range of such investment products will be available .
INSURANCES
You can purchase your life , car , house , endowment or any insurance policies through your bank .
There are probably many other services offered but this gives you an idea of the range of the banks involvement in financial services . Banks also offer face to face over the counter service , cash-point machines , telephone banking and on-line banking which has made them a 24hour service which is excellent .