Contemporary Issues in UK Bank Delivery Systems Available to Purchase

Distribution channels are an important means both of delivering products and of communicating effectively with the marketplace. In the basic bank markets, which have been traditionally dominated by the London clearing banks (LCBs) and characterized by the collection of retail deposits, the money transmission mechanism and a range of personal lending services, branch networks have fulfilled both these functions with considerable success. As distribution channels, however,branch networks have certain inherent disadvantages which have become only too apparent with the progressive deregulation of the financial services markets. Alternative distribution channels, particularly those which utilize advanced technology, have partially remedied some of these weaknesses by complementing and supplementing the branch networks. The emergence and very existence of these alternative distribution channels,however, has also introduced some far‐reaching and potentially challenging strategic implications for financial institutions.