<p>According to The Independent, the UK advertising watchdog said that the bank's television adverts for the Bank Account Plus were misleading, as the bank charges a 2.75% exchange rate fee, which is in effect a 'transaction fee'. As a result, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found HSBC to be in breach of its advertising regulations and has ordered the bank not to repeat the claim.<br /><br />The misleading claim had been brought to the watchdog's attention by Nationwide Building Society, which does not charge its customers for card use abroad, The Independent revealed. <br /><br />This ruling comes as HSBC faces a large protest from students over its recent decision to stop three-year interest-free overdrafts on its graduate accounts. The protest has gathered much momentum online, via a group on social networking site Facebook. The group, called Stop the great HSBC graduate rip-off, has signed up over 4,000 members.<br /><br />According to the BBC, this move has been stimulated by the bad debt associated with graduate accounts. The publication added that the removal of the interest-free overdraft will be implemented in September 2007, although graduates will still benefit from a discounted interest rate of 9.9%APR instead of the standard 18.9%APR.</p>
