Competition body pushes ahead with PPI plans

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog said on Wednesday it was pressing ahead with its clampdown on the sale of payment protection insurance PPI.L, pending the outcome of an appeal by Barclays (BARC.L).

The Competition Commission has published a draft order for consultation setting out how the measures, which include preventing the sale of PPI during the sale of a credit product and for seven days afterwards, will be implemented.

In April, Barclays challenged the legality of the Commission's proposals, taking its case to the Competition Appeal Tribunal CAT.L.

PPI covers repayments on credit products if the borrower is unable to make repayments due to accident, sickness, unemployment or death. There are 12 million policies in Britain.

The Commission said it had started consultation on the changes to enable it to "move quickly" once the appeal is finalised and it has considered the CAT's judgment. The appeal hearing takes place between Sept 7-10.

"Whilst we are waiting for the outcome of the appeal, we are pressing ahead with the detailed work needed to put these measures in place," said Inquiry Chairman Peter Davis.

"If the CAT supports our findings, taking these steps now will help ensure there is no unnecessary delay in resolving the significant competition issues that we found in this market."

All PPI providers will be able to respond to the proposals, the Commission said.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham)