Banks

It's Christmas week. If you're off work (or bored at it), stuffed with turkey, and desperate to avoid the relatives...

Millions of basic bank account holders will soon be able to switch to a truly fee-free basic account, after the Government announced nine of the new accounts would be up and running in the New Year. But current basic bank account holders may not be automatically switched to a fee-free account – so you should contact your provider to check.

Over 10 million Barclaycard credit card customers will have their interest rates linked to the Bank of England base rate from February next year, while the same is also happening for some Lloyds Banking Group customers.

Around 125,000 mortgage and loan customers of Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) – the state-owned remnant of failed lender Northern Rock – will be transferred to US private investment firm Cerberus or to TSB Bank next year.

Lloyds Banking Group has set aside an extra £500 million to cover payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling claims, which takes the group's overall PPI provision to £13.9 billion.

A Halifax and Bank of Scotland (HBOS) online security flaw meant balances and transactions were left exposed for others to view – which could have led to a privacy breach for millions, or worse, a risk of fraud .

TSB Classic Plus customers can now earn up to £60 cashback a year on spending, on top of the 5% interest they can already earn on balances of up to £2,000. But is the deal any good? MoneySavingExpert.com evaluates.

Lloyds Banking Group has set aside an extra £1.4 billion to cover payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling claims, financial figures released today reveal.

About 41,000 Northern Rock mortgage customers with unsecured loans of between £25,000 and £30,000 have been dealt a massive blow this morning, as the Court of Appeal has ruled they're not due redress for historic paperwork blunders.

The financial crisis in Greece and ensuing euro worries mean the pound is currently buying €1.41 – a seven year record high. This would've been unthinkable this time last year when you'd have done well to get €1.25 and two years ago when €1.17 would've been worth whooping about.