Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group (>> Lloyds Banking Group PLC), and the British arm of Santander (>> Banco Santander, S.A.) attracted the most net new accounts in the first quarter of this year, according to data released by the Payments Council.

NatWest, part of Royal Bank of Scotland (>> Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc), Barclays (>> Barclays PLC) and HSBC (>> HSBC Holdings plc) had the biggest net losses.

The new rules, introduced last October, ensure customers can switch accounts within seven working days, with all outgoing and incoming payments automatically transferred.

Industry sources have said the increase in switching has not been as significant as hoped, however, and the annual tally still represents only just over 2 percent of about 54 million active current accounts.

The Payments Council, which is responsible for the account switching service, said 1.2 million people switched in the year to the end of September, up from 985,600 in the previous year.

The move to make it easier to switch is part of a range of measures designed to break the dominance of Britain's five biggest banks -- Lloyds, RBS, Barclays, HSBC and Santander UK -- which provide more than three-quarter of all UK personal current or checking accounts.

Data on individual lenders was six months in arrears. Halifax attracted a net gain of 41,558 customers between January and March, Santander UK had a net gain of 37,316 and building society Nationwide gained 11,680, the Payments Council said.

NatWest had a net loss of 18,258 customers, Barclays lost 16,467, HSBC lost 15,429 and the Lloyds Bank brand lost 15,202.

(Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Mark Potter)