The strain of the payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal shows no sign of slowing as figures from the FSA show redress payments surged to a new monthly high in December.
It took the total paid during 2011 to within touching distance of £2bn, although this sum is likely to be dwarfed by the final total, expected by some to reach as much as £8bn.
December's new high of £441m eclipsed November's £379m, which itself was 41% up on October's figure.
The statistics provided by the FSA only include data from 16 firms that accounted for 92% of all PPI complaints in the first half of the year.
It is therefore likely that the real total has already surpassed the £2bn barrier.
