State-backed Lloyds Banking Group has been fined a record £117m by the City watchdog for mis-handling payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints.

It is the latest fine imposed on the bank, in which the taxpayer still holds a 19% stake. It comes just two months after Clydesdale Bank was fined £20.7m for similar failings. Earlier this week, the government said it would launch a Lloyds share sale to the public "in the next 12 months". Last year, Lloyds was fined £218m by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and US regulators for its part in the rigging of international banking lending rates. The latest fine relates to the way in which Lloyds advised its own complaint handlers to deal with customer demands for PPI refunds. The FCA said the bank dealt with 2.3 million PPI mis-selling complaints between March 2012 and May 2013. Lloyds rejected 37% of those complaints out of hand. Call centre staff in March 2012 were advised that the bank's sales processes were compliant with regulations and that they were to deal with complaints on this basis unless otherwise informed....Read more here