Banks hit by surge in PPI complaints

COMPLAINTS over payment protection insurance (PPI) jumped 24pc in the first half of the year, according to the City regulator.

PPI complaints climbed from 899,000 to 1.11m over the period, making it the most complained about financial product.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said customers were handed around £1.6bn in compensation for the mis-selling of PPI in the six months to the end of June.

The surge in complaints came before the launch of a publicity blitz by the FCA – including an advert featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger – that encourages victims of PPI to make a claim ahead of the deadline in two years.

The rise was partly triggered by the FCA’s move to a new reporting method, the watchdog said.

According to the figures, Barclays Bank received the most complaints followed by Lloyds Bank and the Bank of Scotland. ÷ Merrill Lynch has been fined £34.5m by the FCA for failing to report 68.5m trading transactions that took place between February 12, 2014 and February 6, 2016.

This was the first enforcement for this kind of activity under new EU regulations.