The investigation into the competitiveness of the market for payment protection insurance, which covers loan repayments in the event of illness or redundancy, took a giant leap forward this week when the Office of Fair Trading called on the Competition Commission to conduct its own formal investigation.

In a lengthy report, the OFT indicated it referred its investigation to the commission after evidence was found that "features" of the PPI market "prevent, restrict or distort competition and lead to poor value for consumers".