In profit...

Antonio Horta-Osorio came under more pressure after Lloyds Banking Group was hit with a £4.3m fine for failing to pay compensation quickly enough to tens of thousands customers.

The Government's widely questioned push to kickstart the economy though luring pension funds to cough up the cash to build new roads, waste facilities and prisons received a welcome boost today.

Seeking out unfashionable shares could help you reap rewards. If they are at a low point, they're unlikely to slump much further but If they recover, investors can make decent profits, writes Simon Read.

Outlook One of the reasons banks were so keen to sell payment protection insurance (PPI) policies alongside personal loans is that selling personal loans hasn't been a very profitable business.

The former boss of Lloyds Bank this morning denied widespread mis-selling of payment protection insurance policies.

The best month for England's regions since last September today fuelled hopes the UK can escape an unprecedented triple-dip recession.

Chancellor George Osborne’s decision to threaten UK banks with break-up if they fail to meet rules to make them safer could make it harder for the Government to sell its huge stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, experts warned today.

Business confidence is increasing and the bank lending drought is easing, according to a series of new surveys today that fuel hopes the economy could be slowly turning around.

Royal Bank of Scotland has moved to calm investor fears over the future of its chief executive Stephen Hester, as chairman Sir Philip Hampton privately promised shareholders Mr Hester will stay well into next year. The news comes as the taxpayer-owned bank is expected to be hit with a £500m fine by US and UK regulators this week, just as it pays bankers £250m in bonuses.

Britain’s big four banks suffered another blow today as they were ordered to review all interest rate hedging products they may have mis-sold to small businesses.

Banks are to see compensation bills for one of the country’s biggest mis-selling scandals soar after the Financial Ombudsman Service today said customer complaints about payment protection insurance had more than doubled to 11,000 new claims each week in the final quarter last year.

Bank customers are saving almost £1 billion a year in overdraft charges thanks to reforms introduced after a public revolt against them, but high street providers must do more if they are to escape a competition investigation into their industry, a report warned today.

Britain’s banks received a fresh blow today as the consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading, said they were still failing to be competitive enough and not focusing on customers’ needs.