Abbey launches ‘cashback’ loyalty-scheme mortgage
Abbey is launching the first mortgage to give consumers regular cash back to reward loyalty this week. Called the Reward Mortgage, it offers one per cent of the loan every two years. Reward is the second new product launched under the auspices of customer propositions director Angus Porter.
At the same time, Abbey has launched a press campaign, created by TBWA/London, aggressively comparing its savings account with Halifax’s and mocking Halifax’s “Always giving you extra” slogan. Only last month, Halifax launched a multi-million pound campaign featuring its Howard spokesman, to promote its savings accounts.
Abbey’s campaign comes in the midst of a war of words in retail banking, with high street banks accusing each other of misleading marketing practices.
Nationwide is considering reporting Lloyds TSB to the Advertising Standards Authority for an advertising campaign created by WWAV Rapp Collins. The campaign, which broke last week, promotes loans at 6.9 per cent interest. Nationwide claims Lloyds TSB will typically offer a rate of 14.9 per cent.
Recently Lloyds TSB was forced to amend its advertising from “lowest rate” to “one of the lowest rates”. But a spokeswoman for Lloyds TSB says it will not change its advertising, saying “we don’t feel it breaks any guidelines”. HSBC has also stepped into the fray, attacking rival banks – with the exception of Nationwide – by claiming they have failed to pass on &£1.2bn in interest rate cuts to mortgage borrowers.
