Please accept our apologies for the late arrival of this months Newsletter. We've had some illness and holidays to contend with, leaving us a little short on time. However, at least the positive trend in the markets has made us start feeling more optimistic!

Banks and building societies accused of misleading customers

Currently there is much comment in the press and in Parliament about some of the methods used by Banks to achieve the massive profitability they showed just before they brought the country to its knees with the recent financial crisis.

It is becoming clear that many clients, especially the elderly, were misled by the banks and persuaded to move their savings from safe ordinary deposit accounts into risky investment bonds, linked to stocks and shares. High commissions and sales targets were used to encourage bank staff to target mature customers, some of whom may not fully have understood the complexity of the products they were being sold.

Argyle was recently able to recover more than £80,000 in compensation from the Halifax for the parents of one of our clients, as a direct result of this kind of sales pressure. We urge you to check whether you, or a member of your family, may have been a victim of this kind of tactic. Banks have much to answer for in this country and we should remain vigilant in all of our dealings with them.

New ISA limits from 6th October, 2009

Beginning with people aged 50 and over, the ISA limit will be raised to £10,200 of which £5,100 can now be held in cash. The new limit will apply to all people aged 50 and over in the current tax year, with effect from 6th October 2009… and to all others from April 2010.

Naturally, you can take advantage of these increased limits using your existing Argyle Transact ISA account. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss this, or any other financial matter.