(OFT) OFT to focus investigation into unarranged overdraft charges on three banks

The OFT has announced that it is to streamline its investigation into unarranged overdraft charges by focusing on the terms of three banks in particular. The aim is to progress the case in the shortest and most efficient way possible.

The OFT believes that the terms of the three selected banks provide the best representative selection of all the banks' unarranged overdraft charging terms, and therefore the outcome of this more focused investigation will be relevant to the assessment of other banks' terms.

The investigation will concentrate initially on the charging terms of Lloyds TSB, HSBC and Clydesdale. The OFT has written to all the banks under investigation to outline this decision.

It should not be assumed that the OFT is more or less likely to find the terms of these banks' unfair than those of the other banks. The investigation into the other banks' terms is merely on hold and the OFT has stressed that no banks' terms have been given a clean bill of health.

The OFT expects to reach final conclusions on fairness later this year.

Launch of ISA to help vaccinate children.

A new ISA (Individual Savings Account) is being launched which will enable savers to help vaccinate children in some of the world's poorest countries, it was announced this week. The International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm) is planning to raise funds to vaccinate children in more than 70 developing countries.

The Vaccine Investment Isa is available through HSBC branches across the UK and Geneva-based GAVI, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, will oversee the inoculations of which the majority will be in Africa.

Its members include the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and vaccine manufacturers. The Sunday Times writes that the idea of converting governments' future aid commitments into immediate funding for projects in developing countries was promoted by Gordon Brown in 2005. In 2006, IFFIm was launched to convert $5.3 billion in future aid commitments (pledged over 20 years by the seven governments) into bonds. The Pope was the first IFFIm bond investor.