The scope of the Competition Commission report includes business customers and Clubs, Charities, Religious Organisations and Associations in the United Kingdom with annual reve-nue up to £25m.

Such entities, whether in the form of sole traders, partnerships or limited companies are defined by the Commission as "Small and Medium Enterprises" (SMEs).

Reference to business customers includes Clubs, Charities, Religious Organisations and Associations except where stated.

Initially the Bank gave Undertakings to the Office of Fair Trading in October 2002, impacting a range of areas such as product bundling, provision of credit history and publication of rates and charges.
Subsequent Undertakings in July 2003 focussed on the process and performance targets for current account switching for both the "new" bank i.e. the Bank to which the customer is moving and the "old bank" i.e. the Bank from which the customer is moving his account.

Publication of Performance Objectives
Part of our commitments under the Undertakings is to publish how successful Northern is in comparison to OFT Targets.

Period 2nd January 2008 to 30th June 2008:

Commitments Old Bank	Target	OFT Target %	Achieved %
Forward new bank, and/or Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) as requested, details of SME's existing direct debits ("DDs") and standing orders ("SOs") following receipt of request to do so from SME or new bank (authorised by SME).	By close of business on the second working day following the working day of receipt of the request.	80	100
Action request by new bank (authorised by SME) or by SME to cancel DDs and SOs.	By close of business on the second working day following the working day of receipt of the request or, where a later date for action is specified by, or agreed with, new bank or SME, by such later date.	80	100
Where applicable, action request by new bank (authorised by SME) or by SME to transfer, in the manner requested, the available balance remaining in SME's account with it to new bank or to SME. If requested by SME or by new bank (authorised by SME), close account.	By close of business on the third working day following the working day of receipt of the request. An additional working day is ap-plicable where the SME or new bank (authorised by SME) has requested closure of the account (i.e. a total of four working days to close the account whether it has a credit or zero balance).	80	100
Where applicable, on receipt of sufficient cleared funds from new bank or SME to clear balance of SME's overdraft (including interest and costs), level off SME's account (showing the balance as zero) and, if, in addition, requested by SME or new bank (authorised by SME), close account.	Within 3 working days following the working day of receipt of the funds from SME or new bank. An additional working day is applicable where the SME or new bank (authorised by SME) has requested closure of the account.	80	100
Following receipt of details of regular payments (DDs and SOs) from old bank or SME set up, in accordance with any instructions from SME, new SOs and DDs, in relation to the latter by sending a transfer advice to DD originators advising them of details of both the old bank and the new bank.	By close of business on the third working day following the working day of receipt of details of such regular payments or, where a later date for action is specified by, or agreed with, SME, by such later date.	80	98.21
Where applicable and requested by SME, send request to old bank to transfer to it the available balance remaining in SME's account with old bank.	By close of business on the second working day following the working day of receipt of the request to do so by SME or, where a later target date for the transfer has been agreed with SME, in sufficient time to enable the transfer to take place by such later date.	80	100
Where applicable, and provided SME has put new bank in a position to do so, action request to transfer to old bank funds, in accordance with SME's instructions, to clear balance of SME's overdraft (including interest and costs) remaining in SME's account with old bank.	By close of business on the second working day following the working day of receipt of the request or, where a later date for the transfer has been agreed with SME, by such later date.	80	95

Northern Bank is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. In respect of credit balances with a UK office where that office is unable to satisfy claims, payments under the Scheme are limited to 100% of the first £2,000 of a depositor's total credit balances with the bank and 90% of the next £33,000, resulting in a maximum payment of £31,700. Most depositors, including individuals and small firms, are covered. The Scheme covers deposits made with the offices of the bank within the European Economic Area and deposits denominated in all currencies are treated alike. Further details of the Scheme are available on request.