Santander

Spanish banking giant Santander has seen its profits tumble by more than 90% in the third quarter after bad property loans in Spain battered its books.

Virgin Money has made "informal" contact with Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) over the sale of 300 of its branches, after the original deal with Santander collapsed.

Santander, the UK's second largest mortgage lender, has been criticised for hiking its standard variable rate (SVR) by 0.5% - to 4.74% - a move expected to affect several hundred thousand customers.

Small firms caught up in the mis-selling of complex interest rate derivative products face up to a nine month wait to hear if they qualify for compensation.

Seven more banks have agreed to join the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) review of sales of interest rate hedging products to SMEs.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded the credit rating on 28 Spanish banks, including Banco Santander, less than a month after cutting the nation's sovereign rating.

The sale of 318 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) branches to Grupo Santander of Spain has been hit by more delays, The Times reports.

The government has launched a scheme to help small businesses access cheaper finance through discounts on loans.

Analysts are predicting a wave of increases in mortgage interest rates after Halifax announced it would increase its standard variable rate (SVR) to 3.99% from 3.5% in May.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Santander £1.5m for failing to confirm to customers the circumstances under which its structured products would be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).