HSBC says it "successfully defended" an attack on its online banking system but services are disrupted on a key day for many people's personal finances.

The bank is apologising to customers trying to login to its online banking which, for many, is unavailable. It said it was working with the authorities to "pursue the criminals responsible". The final Friday in January is payday for lots of people and is also two days ahead of a key deadline for paying tax. Sunday is the last day for filing self-assessment tax forms online and is when millions of the self-employed and others settle their tax bill with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Late payments face a 3% interest charge from HMRC, but the tax authority said there were many different payment options that could be used by the end of 31 January. "Where taxpayers need information from their HSBC account, and they are currently unable to access this they can include an estimate in their return in order to file by 31 January. They have 12 months from the date they file to amend this with the correct information," a spokesman for HMRC said.

Defending attacks

HSBC said that no customer details had been compromised by the attack and that it was "working closely with law enforcement authorities to pursue the criminals responsible". "HSBC internet banking came under a denial of service attack this morning, which affected personal banking websites in the UK," said a spokesman for the bank. "HSBC has successfully defended against the attack, and customer transactions were not affected. We are working hard to restore services, and normal service is now being resumed. We apologise for any inconvenience this incident may have caused."....Read more here