Investment

The last batch of parents whose offspring are eligible for the child trust fund (CTF) only have a few weeks to choose where to save or invest their free cash, or face having it automatically placed in a poor-paying or risky account.

Banks should separate their investment and retail arms to help prevent a future financial crisis, the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) said today.

Halifax/Bank of Scotland (Hbos) customers will be entitled to £17 million in compensation after the bank was fined £3.5 million for shoddy complaints handling.

A major building society has been fined £1.4 million and must pay £51 million compensation to customers after it mis-sold investment products in collapsed firm Keydata Investment Services.

Equitable Life today announced plans to hand back hundreds of millions of pounds to its beleaguered policyholders who have seen the value of their investments dive.

Savers considering the highly-publicised John Lewis Partnership Bond should be mindful the account is not a savings product.

Some financial products could be banned and price caps could be imposed as part of a radical rethink of the way consumers are protected, the City watchdog says.

Thousands of Barclays customers are set for £60 million compensation combined after the bank mis-sold risky investments to those wanting a safe haven for their cash.