The bank, along with most of the other major UK High Street lenders, has also been found culpable in recent years of mis-selling unnecessary payment protection insurance to mortgage borrowers, and overly complex, over-priced interest rate and currency hedges to small businesses.

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Mrs Murphy gave up work to be a full-time carer for her husband and because of his haemophilia they were unable to take out insurance policies or mortgage protection.

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These included new long-term-care contracts and mortgage insurance which, growing particularly fast outside America, provides credit protection to banks through policies paid for by the borrower.

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