Banking | Banking news, rates and offers

As Get Safe Online Week 2008 (17th-21st November) draws to a close new research from PayPal, the way to pay and be paid online, reveals that half of Britons (50%) who shop online are concerned about protecting their details online and avoiding fraud or identity theft (49%).

Lending to small businesses grew by just under £1bn in the third quarter of 2008, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

Over half of Britons (53%) feel financial problems are the single greatest issue facing the nation today, up by a quarter (from 21%) in just 12 months, according to research by AXA.

Switchers to Abbey's 'limited edition' current account will receive £100 if they move to Abbey before the 15th of December.

Despite a 2.75% cut in base rate in the space of a year, overdraft rates have continued to increase, with Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank increasing rates by as much as 7.31%.

Passport? Check. Toothbrush? Check. Clean underwear? Check. Foreign currency...? Apparently this is a familiar scenario for many British business travellers. And those without foreign currency at hand are more likely to be women than men according to a new study by Travelex.

Following the recent 1.5% cut in the sterling Base Rates, Abbey International, the specialist offshore banking subsidiary of Abbey in the UK has reduced the interest rates payable on its range of sterling savings accounts.

The predicted fall in inflation will come as welcome news to the country's over 50s, only 2% of whom feel they have not yet suffered from steep rises in the cost of living.

As the QE2 leaves the UK for the final time before becoming a floating hotel in Dubai, figures from foreign currency expert M&S Money suggest that the region continues to be a popular winter destination for Brits.

Setting out their members commitment to small businesses in a 10 point promise the British Bankers' Association said the Statement of Principles that underpins the Business Banking Code was being reviewed with business groups.