If you have recently graduated you’ll no doubt be delighted to discover that banks place a greater value on your custom than everyone else's. However worrying the state of your student debt ravaged finances may currently seem you should be heartened by the fact that at this early stage in your banking life all the major high street banks will be clamouring 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 fact that their customers, whether through laziness or apathy, are unlikely to shop around for alternatives. It's a bizarre 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 bothering to look at the alternatives.
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 considerably better terms than a regular bank account. If you've just graduated now is a great time to investigate your options - don't fall into the trap of sticking with your current bank for convenience sake, the fact is there are lots of competitive graduate accounts out there so you may as well consider your options.
The item that should be top of any graduate's requirements is an account that offers a high interest-free 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). You could possibly save yourself hundreds of pounds whilst ensuring a crucial buffer and opportunity to clear debts by opting for a competitive graduate account that ensures a good 0% interest overdraft over the full three years (some accounts offer a one year 0% overdraft only, whilst HSBC doesn't offer one at all).
The golden rule is not to stick with your current bank simply for the sake of convenience. It really is worth the small effort of regularly reassessing your account, comparing your deal with other offerings on the market (There are several 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.