Tech meltdown sees TSB hit by 16,000 customer exodus

As many as 1.9 million of the lender’s more than 5 million customers were left unable to access their own money in April, after the bank tried to introduce a new computer system.

The debacle resulted in the resignation of the bank’s chief executive and an enquiry by the City regulator.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is still considering whether to fine the bank, after it was judged to have misled Parliament over the issue.

Now, the figures released by the payments operator BACS show a net loss in accounts at TSB between April and June and it is expected that more glitches leading to further problems for customers in September are likely to cause more customers to switch their accounts elsewhere.

Reacting to the news, TSB said thousands of people had also opened accounts during the period of the mass exodus.

“During the three months in question we actually saw more than 20,000 customers either open a new bank account at one of our branches or switch their account to us,” it said.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was the next biggest loser in the quarter, with 12,362 customers switching to accounts elsewhere.

The biggest gainers were the Nationwide Building Society, which attracted an extra 34,577 customers, and HSBC which gained 25,605.