to recruit less wealthy customers and by introducing small saving schemes. It would take until 1950 for real recovery where there was a huge increase in provincial branch offices and the emergence of the high street bank. Relaxation of some controls over mergers and acquisitions led to consolidation in the 1960s in which the Big Five became the Big Four, along with the takeover of several regional banks (Martins, District Bank, National Bank, Glyn Mills and William Deacons). At the same time the government launched a new banking service, the National Girobank. In 1976 the Banking Act increased the supervisory role of the Bank of England. Introduction of computing, credit cards and many new services continued to drive the expansion of banks and as deregulation was introduced competitiveness increased. Banks improved services, refurbished antiquated premises and brought in further technology such as ATM. 21st century Currently most banks in the United Kingdom offer very similar services, distinguished only by differing interest rates. In 2006, the Office of Fair Trading found that the banks were exploiting penalty bank charges on credit cards and has suggested that banks restrict such penalty to a maximum of £12. Penalty charges or Liquidated damages are illegal in UK contract law unless they represent the real cost of a breach of contract incurred through an unauthorised overdraft level or bounced cheque. This ruling by the OFT had been taken by many customers to extend to their personal bank accounts and subsequently the UK small claims court system was flooded with cases of customers reclaiming these ‘illegal’ penalties. It was reported that nearly 1.8 million template letters to take the banks to court had been downloaded from the website MoneySavingExpert.com. In October 2009, the Supreme Court overturned previous rulings that allowed the OFT to investigate overdraft charges, bringing to an end such claims. Although initially the OFT said it would look at other ways to pursue the matter, in November that year it decided not to continue with further action. Heads of major British banks met with the Governor of the Bank of England following days of market pressure on lenders' stocks. The Bank of England said after the 20 March 2008-meeting that participants had "agreed to continue their close dialogue with the objective of restoring more orderly market conditions." As of 11 October 2008, the British banks have short-term liabilities equal to 156% of GDP or