Santander UK’s pre-tax profits fell 50% in the first nine months of this year, as the effects of the recent payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal continue to take their toll.

The Spanish bank’sUKarm made a total pre-tax profit of £926 million in the first nine months of 2011, down from £1.9 billion during the same period in 2010.

Earlier this year the bank was forced to set aside £731 million to refund people who have been mis-sold PPI policies. According to the reportSantanderUKmade an attributable profit of £659 million in the first nine months of 2011. If you deduct the post-tax PPI provision of £538 million made in the second quarter however, profit was £1.198 billion – just 8.6% less than in 2010.

This fall in profit is a result of higher regulatory costs, which had a negative net impact of £253 million compared to the same period in 2010,Santanderclaimed.

The broader Santander Group posted attributable profit of £5.3 billion for the first nine months of 2011, 12.8% less than in the same period of 2010. Again the bank attributed the loss largely to the PPI provision in theUK.

Sally Bowyer, Managing Director of leading financial claims company, BrunelFranklin.com said: “Whilst the rules have been tightened up to prevent the blanket mis-selling of PPI, in theory, the problem is historical and people can often apply for a refund of several years’ worth of premiums plus interest, if they were mis-sold a PPI policy.”

Learn more about PPI refunds and find out if you could apply for a refund today! Visit the website www.brunelfranklin.com or call Brunel Franklin, free, on 0800 051 54 51.