Another PPI casualty

Lloyds Banking Group may be faced with a £1bn charge after being found guilty of overcharging and mis-selling payment protection insurance on credit cards, although it is not yet clear how many customers are likely to make a financial claim against the bank. The FSA reported that between 2005 and 2009, PPI revenues at all UK banks totalled £17bn with a significant portion considered to be mis-sold. Over the next five years, issues of mis-selling are expected to cost the industry between £1bn and £3bn.

Whereas Aviva moves away from TV

Aviva is moving away from TV advertising and will instead focus on outdoor and digital media. The insurer's first global brand campaign, which launched this week with the strapline 'You are the big picture', includes large posters in the UK, France, Poland, Singapore and India featuring images of Aviva customers.

Credit card with buttons

Citibank is to pilot a new line of credit cards which allow consumers to press an embedded button on the surface of the plastic to select their preferred payment or points redemption option. The cards feature programmable and electronic components, including a battery, an embedded chip, two buttons and a card-programmable magnetic stripe.

First Direct on TV....

First Direct is to release a TV campaign to mark its 21st anniversary and promote its call centre service. The ad, set in 1989, depicts a schoolgirl talking about whales before her teacher walks in with a newspaper carrying the headline 'First Direct Revolutionises Banking'. The ad then cuts to the present, with the girl now employed as a First Direct call-handler.

The quote of the recession......

Royal Bank of Scotland chairman, Sir Phillip Hampton, has admitted that the bank is 'paying a lot of people who aren't worth it', having previously revealed it paid 100 bankers in excess of £1m. Meanwhile, CEBR has predicted that pre-tax bonuses will be slightly below 2009's £7.3bn, but will still be close to pre-credit crunch levels. However, following the introduction of the 50% tax rate, bankers are expected to take home only £3.8bn.