The head of compliance at British banking giant HSBC resigned in front of a US Senate subcommittee today after it emerged the bank had exposed the US to billions of dollars worth of money laundering, drug trafficking, and terrorist financing.

"Spotlight on" is right.

Indeed. HSBC's North American supremo can expect a harsh interrogation from members of Congress today when she appears before a Senate committee.

Murderous Mexican drug cartels, financiers of terrorist organisations, tax exiles with Cayman Island bank accounts, and suspicious Russians who claimed to be in the used car business – all of them used HSBC to launder money through the United States, according to a damning Congressional report out today.

Perhaps the most telling sign that UK banks are unwanted is that four of the UK's five main quoted banks are trading below their book (or net asset) values.

The deal

There are more rules than ever governing banking today

Star-spotting, stat-gathering, sticker-collecting Kevin Garside sidesteps the puddles to find ways to fill the time when it's soggy in SW19

George Osborne last night stood accused of being reckless when he wrongly named two major banks as being under investigation for the Libor rate-fixing scandal.

Small businesses last night declared the Financial Services Authority's response to the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products did not go far enough and called for firms to be allowed to suspend their repayments.

Fears over the potential for multi-billion pound fines and damages from the industry's rate-rigging scandal sent banks' shares tumbling today.

Passengers of a taxi driver who became known as the notorious "black-cab rapist" lost a crucial step in their battle for damages today.

Banks, insurers and energy providers are forcing their customers to use expensive phone lines to contact them. But new customers can call for free, a new report from Which? has revealed this week.

Many leading banks, insurers and energy companies are making existing customers pay to phone them while offering free numbers to new customers, a watchdog has found.

Building society and bank networks have shrunk by half in the last 30 years.