HIGH street bank NatWest has made the first step towards charging people to deposit money with them.

The bank has issued a warning letter to its 850,000 small business account holders alerting them to a change in the terms and conditions of their account.

This change gives the bank the power to start charging people to use their accounts.

The taxpayer-owned bank has made this decision in the wake of global financial uncertainly after the decision to leave the EU.

NatWest have said that the decision to implement charges will depend on the future stability of the global market.

Local business consultant Phil Collier was surprised by NatWest making this move.

He said: "We're coming out of a recession, and we don't know what the impact of Brexit is going to be. We need to be looking at positives in the small business sector, but this move is a negative one.

"This is a way of punishing small businesses."

Mr Collier highlighted the importance that successive governments have placed on small businesses.

He said: "Small businesses are the lifeblood of any local economy, the government have said on many occasions they are relying on small businesses."

By being the first bank to suggest changes to interest rates, Mr Collier was shocked that it was NatWest that made the first move.

He said: "I've banked with NatWest since I was 16 years old, they've always been the most business-friendly bank."

However, the bank who are owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, have ruled out changes to personal account holders.

An RBS spokesman: "We will consider any necessary action in the event of the Bank of England Base Rate falling below zero, but will do our utmost to protect our customers from any impacts."

The Bank of England has been under pressure to stimulate the economy after the Brexit vote.

However the bank's monetary policy unit voted to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent for foreseeable future.

Mr Collier said: "I think that banks will be better off waiting before going forwards with any drastic moves."

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