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09/06/2012

Health check for Spanish banks, new code to protect pension transfers, one bank in the dock over loan to a customer with dementia and a mystery charge for HSBC business customers.

Paul Lewis brings you the latest news from the world of personal finance.

As the credit rating of Spain hits rock bottom and rumours abound that Spain will ask for a multi-billion Euro loan to secure its banking sector an expert in risk analysis assesses the latest developments and the impact for savers. The Bank of Cyprus asks the UK to cover UK savers in the event of the bank going bust. Why? Reporter Fiona Woods has the low-down and looks at how the various compensation schemes in the EU work.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb unveils a new code of conduct this weekend to protect employees from accepting attractive cash deals to leave valuable final salary pension schemes or give up inflation proofing to a pension once in retirement. Many big companies are making such offers to cut the cost and the risk of providing final salary pensions for their staff. Steve Webb explains live on Money Box how the new code will work.

Lloyds Banking group offers compensation to the family of a woman with advanced dementia who was given an 18 thousand pound unsecured personal loan for home improvements even though she did not own her home and the monthly repayments were nearly half her income before she paid rent, utilities and food bills. We speak to her son Roger Hyde and to Andrew Chidgey from the Alzheimer's Society about what the banks need to do to improve services for customers with dementia and mental illnesses and also what steps families can take to help relatives.

We ask HSBC to explain a mystery charge which has just appeared on the statements of many business customers. The bank says the 拢6 a month fee is a charge for making foreign currency transfers. But a listener who is the treasurer for his local allotment association says he has never made such a transfer and can see no reason why he ever would.

And Money Box has received a number of complaints from customers of the online investment company - Interactive Investor - after it announced that it would be introducing a new 拢80 annual charge. When customers complained that they had only signed up because there was no fee, they were told if they didn't like it they would have to pay to transfer their funds elsewhere. Money Box got involved and Interactive Investor changed its mind about the transfer charges. CEO Tomas Carruthers reveals why.

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30 minutes

Last on

Sun 10 Jun 2012 21:00

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  • Sat 9 Jun 2012 12:00
  • Sun 10 Jun 2012 21:00

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