If you’ve recently graduated you may be surprised to discover that banks place a greater importance on your custom than almost anyone else's. However parlous the state of your student debt ravaged finances may currently appear you should be encouraged by the fact that at this early stage in your banking life all the major high street banks will be particularly keen to get you on board.
The reason is fairly obvious - once young individuals set up an account with a bank more often than not they'll remain loyal to that bank for years. Banks can sadly depend on the likelihood that their customers, whether through laziness or apathy, are unlikely to shop around for alternatives. It's an interesting form of brand loyalty that often means banks can get away with offering non-competitive financial products to established customers who will none the less buy into them without even checking out the competition. The good news is that with the potential of a lifetime of lucrative custom at stake, the major banks are generally prepared to attract young account-holders with student and graduate accounts that offer substantially better terms than a normal bank account.
Graduates should seize the moment and investigate their options - don't fall into the trap of sticking with your current bank for convenience sake, the fact is there are loads of decent graduate accounts out there so you may as well shop around. The item that must be top of any graduate's requirements is an account that offers a high 0% interest overdraft. The best deals available at the time of writing were offering a £2000 interest free overdraft in the first year (The RBS current account and the Natwest current account for graduates both offer £2000 interest free for the first year although the RBS account offers the better long term deal with year two and three at £1500 and £1000 respectively compared to £1000 and £500).
If you chose a viable graduate account that ensures a decent interest free overdraft for the duration of the full 3 years (some accounts offer an one year interest-free overdraft only, HSBC doesn't offer one at all) You can potentially save yourself hundreds of pounds whilst ensuring you have an invaluable buffer and the opportunity to pay off debts. The one thing to remember however is not to fall into the trap of staying with the same bank after your graduate account expires.
It really is worth the small effort of constantly reassessing your account, comparing your deal with other options on the market (There are numerous comparison sites out there, Motley Fool for instance have comparison tables for everything from loans to credit cards) and not being afraid to change. By having an inflexible attitude to who you bank you're as good as throwing money away.