Any decision Ofcom makes could get held up in legal wrangling for months or even years.

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This offered the advantage of a single port of call for the City's big financial conglomerates, but held the risk that they might get unduly caught up in rules to protect the individual consumer.

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Even better, if they held the business until death, their heirs would get a "step up" in its basis, thus avoiding the gains tax, too.

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It even held a three-day get-together last year, where guests were put up in a plush Tata hotel and partied in the corridors.

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