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.

The Co-operative Bank today announced plans to close 37 branches and confirmed it will roll out a rebrand that will see the Britannia name disappear from the high street.

Part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group was labelled a "complete disgrace" as it announced plans to cut almost 1000 jobs.

Lloyds Bank is to axe more than 940 jobs, bringing job loss announcements to 1,300 in the past few days, according to unions.

Thieves have cut their way through the wall of a bank and escaped with tens of thousands of pounds.

Hopes over the future of collapsed music chain HMV were raised today after its debt was bought by the restructuring business behind HMV Canada.

Day traders appeared to be taking profit from the recent surge in the share prices of the UK's banks today, but the City's fund managers are backing the banking sector for the first time since 2007. A trusted fund manager survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch today declared that global investors have now shifted their stance on financial stocks, the first time since February 2007.

Thousands of Christmas gifts have become worthless overnight

Plus: Goldman Sachs’ sneaky move to beat the taxman, Raise your glasses in a toast to Greene King

Independent on Sunday: Decline and write-down of a coach empire