Banking

Halifax is raising fees for customers who are deep into their overdraft.

Marks & Spencer is to offer current accounts from this autumn after announcing plans to open 50 bank branches in the next two years.

The base rate has been held at its 0.5% historic low once again, the Bank of England announced today.

Bank of Cyprus's 50,000 UK savers are likely to be protected by this country's compensation scheme from mid-July.

Firms which offer investments such as personal pensions and Isas face tougher rules to ensure they give people a more realistic prediction of potential returns.

Santander is offering a £50 sign-up bonus to university-goers who open a Student Current Account before 30 June, in a revival of the student cash bonus.

Banks will be made to display clearer information online and in branches on how much compensation savers could claim if their provider went bust. However, the new rules stop short of forcing banks to include the information on statements.

It is now just over a year since the Government's National Savings & Investments (NS&I) bank launched the latest batch of its popular inflation-beating, tax-free accounts, meaning many customers can now withdraw their cash virtually penalty-free.

Banks must be told to stop offering free current accounts if Britain wants to stamp out mis-selling scandals, a senior regulator said today.