Long running test legislation into the validity of allegedly excessive bank charges has concluded today with a ruling by the new Supreme court that the charges are not unlawful.

Campaigners including the OFT have argued that charges applied by banks for being overdrawn are excessive and arbitrary. The ruling today supports the application of bank charges, which many had expected to be overturned.  Financial experts had warned that Bank cash machine charges would be introduced to offset the loss of revenue.

Supreme Court president Lord Phillips ruled that overdraft charges were accepted by account holders as part of the price of having a current account. Accordingly, they were not covered by OFT regulations.

"This will not close the door on the OFT's investigations and may well not resolve the myriad cases that are currently stayed in which customers have challenged the relevant charges," he said.

The charges yield an estimate £2.6 billion per annum for banks.