Tackling poor sales practices in respect of payment protection insurance is a continuing priority for the FSA, as is evident from the its ongoing work and the regulatory action taken against 20 PPI providers in 2008 (see our most recent post here). The FSA has welcomed the decision by Alliance & Leicester, Barclays, The Co-Operative Bank, Lloyds Banking Group (including Lloyds TSB, Halifax and the Bank of Scotland), and RBS/Natwest to stop selling single premium PPI with unsecured personal loans by the end of January 2009. These providers will instead sell regular premium PPI. These providers are implementing one of the proposed remedies for increasing competition suggested by the Competition Comission following its inquiry into the PPI market. Following this move, the FSA hopes that other providers still selling single payment PPI will review their own position.
