Payday lender Wonga is to pay more than £2.6 million in compensation to around 45,000 customers for “unfair and misleading debt collection practices”, the UK markets regulator has announced.

London’s blue chip share index pushed into positive territory today after the Bank of England held steady on its monetary policy and financial firms climbed.

The FTSE 100 Index made steady progress today as investors shrugged off a poor session in Tokyo and persistent worries over Europe’s debt burden.