The UK banking industry has been rumbled again with the news that the country's mutually owned Co-Operative bank has set aside a massive £90 million provision relating to the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.

The Co-Operative announcement is the latest in a long line of UK banks that have had to prepare funds for the mis-selling of the payment insurance. Lloyds have had to set a massive £3.2 billion provison while Barclays and RBS have each had to prepare for a £1 billion hit.

The policies were generally offered and taken up by people as an extra to a personal loan or mortgage to cover repayments if the consumer hit financial strife such as losing their job.

However banks also sold the insurance to the unemployed and people who were self employed who would not have been able to claim. The banks have also been forced to apologise after selling consumers the policy without them even knowing they had done so.