It is estimated that the hotly disputed overdraft charges bring in £2.6bn of annual income for  banks. And today, the millions of customers caught out by them will be sorely disappointed as the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the banks.

Seven banks and one building society wanted the court to overturn two previous rulings that said the OFT had the power to investigate unauthorised overdraft fees. Santander, Barclays, Clydesdale, HBOS, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Nationwide challenged High Court and Court of Appeal decisions that the charges come under “unfair contract” rules and are therefore subject to regulation by the OFT. And now they have finally succeeded in the Supreme Court.

Up to a million customers who filed legal claims worth around £1bn against their banks now look like they will have their cases dismissed.

Lucky then that those taxpaying customers can’t charge as much as £39 for every penny the banks borrowed after they breached their overdraft limits.

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