HSBC, the world’s biggest bank, has taken a ‘commercial decision’ to introduce extra charges for solicitors which could add thousands of pounds to law firms’ banking bills, the Gazette has learned.

The new policy, which applies specifically to solicitors, comes despite the fact that most client accounts are generating marginal interest.

The bank has introduced charges of between £7 and £12.50 for same day ‘CHAPS’ transfers from a client account. This will mean a considerable hike in fees for firms in the conveyancing sector which deal with high volumes of transactions and are already experiencing hardship due to the faltering housing market.

One high-volume conveyancing firm estimated that it carries out 60,000 same-day CHAPS transfers per year, and said it would have to pass the additional charges on to clients. A large City firm said it makes around 1,000 CHAPS transfers per year, and a three-partner conveyancing firm estimated that it makes 300.

HSBC said that the new charges, which can be negotiated depending on volume, are ‘considerably lower’ than for its other business customers, where CHAPS fees range between £17 and £30 per transfer. The bank declined to comment on how much income the new charges would generate, and would not reveal how many solicitors’ client accounts it holds.

Richard Barnett, chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee, said that solicitors’ client accounts provide banks with essential liquidity. He advised solicitors that ‘everything is open to negotiation’ with their banks.

Lloyds said that its professions banking department does not charge any fees at all on its client accounts, although other subsidiaries of the bank may do so. The other ‘big four’ banks, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays, declined to comment on the range of fees that they charge for same-day CHAPS transfers, although Barclays said it does charge solicitors for transfers to external or third-party accounts. Both banks said that their transaction charges were negotiated on an individual basis across all of their business customers.