Financial Services 2000

FMW Corporate Risks has undergone a management buy-out from FMW Group for undisclosed terms. [22-Dec-2000]

Royal & Sun Alliance is to combine its banking and treasury operations onto a single site in Liverpool employing 46 staff, which will mean the closure of units at Bournemouth, Bristol and Halifax by mid-2001. [22-Dec-2000]

Vertex, the billing company, is in negotiations to set up a call centre in Whitehaven, with the creation of 700 jobs. [22-Dec-2000]

Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank are to get a new £80m call centre in Kilmarnock, which will be operated by parent company National Australia Group and create about 500 jobs. [22-Dec-2000]

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is to buy Quilter, the fund manager, for £172m, and is planning to expand the business by adding new locations across the UK. [22-Dec-2000]

Beenz.com, the internet currency company, has announced a restructuring programme that will result in the closure of offices in some countries and redundancies among its 260 employees. [20-Dec-2000]

Peel Hunt, the stockbroking and corporate finance house, is to be acquired by KBC Bank of Belgium for £218m. [19-Dec-2000]

Robert Fleming Insurance Brokers has undergone a management buy-out from Chase Manhattan of the US for undisclosed terms. [18-Dec-2000]

American Express is to acquire Sharepeople Group for £30m, and the online brokerage will be named American Express Sharepeople. [18-Dec-2000]

Alltel Mortgage Solutions of the US is planning to create up to 250 new jobs at its European base in Bingley, due to rising demand for the supply of software and processing services to mortgage companies. [15-Dec-2000]

Lloyds TSB is to form a partnership between its Evolvebank subsidiary and Centrica next year to launch a new online bank under the Goldfish brand. [14-Dec-2000]

Peel Hunt, the investment bank, has received a takeover approach from an unnamed company. [14-Dec-2000]

EPO.com, the online share distribution company, has been acquired by EO of Sweden for undisclosed terms. [14-Dec-2000]

Total System Services, the US payment card processor, is to set up a customer services centre in York, which is expected to create about 50 jobs initially. [13-Dec-2000]

Barclays has announced plans to recruit a further 1,000 staff at its Sunderland call centre over the next year. [13-Dec-2000]

Lovells is to merge with Ekelmans Den Hollander of the Netherlands to create a combined law firm with 280 partners and 1,200 lawyers. [12-Dec-2000]

AMP of Australia is planning to cut 3,000 of the 10,000 jobs in its UK financial services business over the next three years, which will affect its NPI, Pearl Assurance and London Life operations. [11-Dec-2000]

Lincoln Financial Group is to set up a telephone and internet-based operation to sell insurance protection and savings products, having reversed a decision to stop taking new business in the UK. [11-Dec-2000]

Equitable Life, the mutual insurer, has closed to new business having failed to find a buyer, which is expected to lead to the disposal of its 400 sales staff, its health insurance operation and its unit trust business. [11-Dec-2000]

Unisys has agreed a deal with Barclays and Lloyds TSB to create a major cheque-handling operation at the Girobank centre in Bootle, with the creation of hundreds of jobs. [11-Dec-2000]

Lloyds TSB is considering plans to launch a bid for Abbey National, which is currently in merger negotiations with Bank of Scotland. [06-Dec-2000]

Aberdeen Asset Management is to acquire Themis Investment Management from Charterhouse for £3.7m. [06-Dec-2000]

Standard Life Investments is to set up an office in Hong Kong in order to expand its fund management business into Asia, and is also considering plans to launch a new operation in the US. [06-Dec-2000]

Bank of Scotland is to acquire ICC Bank from the Irish government for about £210m, while the TSB state-owned bank is being acquired by Irish Life & Permanent for £263m. [06-Dec-2000]

TD Waterhouse is planning to add a High Street presence to its existing online and telephone-based stockbroking business, and hopes to open eight shops over the next year. [04-Dec-2000]

JP Morgan's investment banking headquarters on Victoria Embankment in London may be redeveloped following the sale of a controlling stake in the property to London & Regional. [30-Nov-2000]

Lloyds TSB is planning to launch Evolvebank, its new internet bank, in the UK next year and discussions are taking place with potential partners for the service in continental Europe. [29-Nov-2000]

Bank of Scotland is in negotiations to acquire ICC Bank for about £170m, in order to increase its presence in Ireland. [28-Nov-2000]

Egg is considering plans to set up a network of high street branches to support its online banking business, and is expected to run a trial next year. [28-Nov-2000]

RapidInsure has closed its online insurance operation to new business as it urgently requires up to £4m of funding. [28-Nov-2000]

Cazenove is planning to abandon its partnership structure and become a public company, in order to raise funds for the expansion of its stockbroking business into continental Europe. [28-Nov-2000]

Eurobenefits, the supplier of an online staff benefits service, is planning to double the staff at its London, Marlow and Edinburgh offices to 120 by February, and is considering plans for a £500m flotation. [27-Nov-2000]

Barclays is to recruit a further 600 staff at its telephone banking call centre in Coventry over the next year, taking the total to 1,300. [24-Nov-2000]

Egg has announced plans to recruit an additional 180 people at its internet banking call centre in Derby. [22-Nov-2000]

Easier is to put its online estate agency up for sale and turn itself into a cash shell, having decided not to risk trying to turn the business around. [22-Nov-2000]

OnLine Finance, the General Motors subsidiary that provides finance facilities to car dealers and their customers, is to relocate from London to Treforest near Pontypridd, with the creation of 400 jobs. [21-Nov-2000]

Aberdeen Asset Management is creating a further 125 jobs in its customer services, dealing and registration departments in Aberdeen. [21-Nov-2000]

Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank are to be merged by their parent company National Australia Group, in order to streamline the UK operations in preparation for a listing. [20-Nov-2000]

Bank of Scotland is to combine all its business banking operations under the Bank of Scotland brand, following a rationalisation programme that has streamlined its back-office functions and shed 100 jobs. [20-Nov-2000]

ING Barings is to be absorbed into its Dutch parent group's wholesale business, following a decision to drop plans to build a global investment bank, and about 1,700 London-based employees will be affected by the move. [20-Nov-2000]

Yorkshire Building Society has approached all 67 UK building societies about plans to set up a branch sharing scheme that would allow customers to perform transactions at any branch free of charge. [20-Nov-2000]

Bank of Ireland is seeking acquisitions to expand its Bristol & West operation in the UK, and wants to diversify the business into higher-margin areas. [17-Nov-2000]

City Invoice Finance is to extend its national network of business finance centres by opening an office in Cardiff. [16-Nov-2000]

Scottish & Southern Energy is planning to expand its new Simple2 online financial services business by targeting corporate customers in continental Europe. [16-Nov-2000]

Jardine Lloyd Thompson has acquired Abbey National Benefit Consultants for £22m, as part of a strategy to expand its pensions administration business. [16-Nov-2000]

Lloyds TSB has announced that 1,000 jobs will be created at a new call centre in Pencoed near Bridgend next year, which is more than double the number originally planned. [15-Nov-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland is seeking acquisitions in the US and continental Europe, but is unlikely to make any further deals in the UK. [15-Nov-2000]

Abbey National is investing £55m in the launch of its new Inscape wealth management business, and expects to expand the operation into continental Europe. [15-Nov-2000]

Ulster Bank is planning to shed 200 jobs as part of a restructuring programme that will involve the centralisation of administration and branch closures. [14-Nov-2000]

Lincoln Financial Group is planning to close its Uxbridge office and relocate about 500 jobs to its site in Gloucester, following a decision by its US parent company to transfer the salesforce to Inter-Alliance Group. [14-Nov-2000]

Durlacher has received a £30m cash injection from three institutions in order to expand its portfolio of technology-based investments. [14-Nov-2000]

Alliance & Leicester is planning to invest £15m in the launch of an online wealth management service early next year. [14-Nov-2000]

Schroders is planning to expand its new private bank across Europe, increasing its presence in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria and eastern Europe. [14-Nov-2000]

Fenics, the supplier of financial services software, is being acquired by GFInet of the US for undisclosed terms. [14-Nov-2000]

Credit Suisse First Boston is to take a further 500,000 sq ft of office space at Canary Wharf in London. [13-Nov-2000]

Moneyextra has sold its online consumer financial services business to Bristol & West for £26m, and has also announced plans to acquire Crisp Computing for £29m, focus on the supply of e-commerce solutions and change its name to Exchange FS. [13-Nov-2000]

Willis has bought the Worldwide Intellectual Resources Exchange, which provides database services to brokers and lawyers, for undisclosed terms. [13-Nov-2000]

Aon has acquired Needham Johnson, the Wimbledon-based broker that specialises in fine art and antiques, for undisclosed terms. [10-Nov-2000]

Charles Schwab has confirmed plans to spend up to £10m opening a further 10 investor centres across the UK, in order to offer guidance on running share portfolios. [09-Nov-2000]

Travelex has acquired Thomas Cook's financial services division for £440m, in order to expand its foreign exchange business with an additional 300 retail outlets. [09-Nov-2000]

Old Mutual is to close its Gerrard & King money broking business, and some of the 53 London-based jobs will be lost. [08-Nov-2000]

Kensington Group is planning to raise up to £50m in a flotation in order to expand its mortgage lending business. [07-Nov-2000]

Dresdner Kleinwort Benson is to acquire Elderstreet Investments for undisclosed terms, and will help the venture capital operator expand into continental Europe by setting up a team in Germany. [07-Nov-2000]

Thrings & Long, the Bath-based law firm, has merged with Townsends of Swindon to create an enlarged legal resource for commercial and private clients in the South and South West. [06-Nov-2000]

Ascot Drummond is to set up a new online accountancy office in Dundee with the creation of 50 jobs. [06-Nov-2000]

Barclays is seeking suitable premises for a new corporate headquarters in London, following its recent acquisition of Woolwich. [06-Nov-2000]

Clifford Chance has announced plans to merge with Grimaldi e Associati, the Italian law firm. [06-Nov-2000]

Boyes Turner, the law firm, is to relocate its 90 staff to larger premises in Reading next March. [06-Nov-2000]

Ryan Insurance Group is to expand its insurance and financial services business in East Anglia by setting up a new office in Colchester and upgrading its communications system. [03-Nov-2000]

Revenues Management Services is to create 150 new jobs in Preston, having won an extension on its contract to manage TV licensing payment schemes for the BBC. [03-Nov-2000]

Edwards Geldard of Cardiff has merged with Eking Manning of the East Midlands to create a combined law firm with 40 partners and 300 staff. [03-Nov-2000]

Abbey National and Bank of Scotland are in preliminary merger discussions that could lead to the creation of a £22bn banking group. [03-Nov-2000]

Capita has bought the remaining 74% of Eastgate, the supplier of outsourcing services to the insurance industry, for £14m. [03-Nov-2000]

CGNU is to take a £448m charge against the disposal of Marlborough Underwriting Agency to Berkshire Hathaway, in order to get out of its Lloyd's insurance business. [02-Nov-2000]

Close Brothers is acquiring 80% of Olim, the fund management company, for £10m, and has also announced plans to buy Braemar Finance. [01-Nov-2000]

Alliance & Leicester is planning to spend £130m on restructuring and computers in order to achieve annual cost savings of £100m by 2004, which will lead to the loss of about 1,500 jobs. [01-Nov-2000]

First Direct is to scrap its tied life and pensions salesforce and re-train the 50 staff as independent financial advisers. [01-Nov-2000]

Halifax is to open a £45m call centre in south Belfast next year, which will lead to the creation of up to 1,500 jobs over the next four years. [31-Oct-2000]

Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette is said to have made about 120 staff redundant at its London-based equities business, following its acquisition by Credit Suisse First Boston. [31-Oct-2000]

Customs & Excise is expected to shed about 50 jobs at its Peterborough office by next April, as part of a plan to centralise its call centres at six regional offices. [30-Oct-2000]

Foreign & Colonial is setting up a new subsidiary called Cerebys to develop derivatives products for the UK insurance market. [30-Oct-2000]

First-e, the Dublin-based financial services technology company, has shed 69 jobs and closed a division that was developing internet lending products. [30-Oct-2000]

Royal & Sun Alliance is to sell its Italian life assurance business to Veneto Banca for £52m, but will retain its four general insurance operations in Italy. [30-Oct-2000]

Westinsure Anada has bought Brunsdon, Swindon, and Frilsons Insurance Brokers for undisclosed terms, as part of a strategy to create a chain of brokerages covering the West Country. [27-Oct-2000]

Eos Internet Ventures, the internet incubator, is to wind down with the loss of about 20 staff, in order to focus on its existing portfolio. [27-Oct-2000]

Tenon Group has acquired the non-audit operations of Williams Allan for £9m, which will enable it to supply services to a number of US companies operating in the Thames Valley. [27-Oct-2000]

Antfactory is forming a £19m joint venture with Nikko Securities to invest in Japanese technology companies. [26-Oct-2000]

ING Barings is planning to rebrand its Barings investment banking business under the ING name over the next two years, as part of a strategy to phase out the local identities of subsidiaries throughout the world. [25-Oct-2000]

Deloitte & Touche is to acquire the actuarial and insurance practices of Bacon & Woodrow, while B&W's remaining employee benefits and accounts business will be merged with Hewitt Associates. [25-Oct-2000]

Inter-Alliance has announced plans to spend more than £2m retraining about 500 sales staff recently recruited from Lincoln National. [25-Oct-2000]

Royal & Sun Alliance and Standard Life have won licences to move into the deregulated Indian insurance market, and they will both operate in partnership with local companies. [24-Oct-2000]

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is to take an additional 512,000 sq ft of office space at Canary Wharf in London. [23-Oct-2000]

Aberdeen Asset Management has announced a conditional deal to acquire Equitilink of Australia for £56m. [23-Oct-2000]

NewMedia Spark has acquired Internet Indirect for £73m, in order to expand its internet incubator fund. [23-Oct-2000]

Churchill Insurance is seeking a further 20 staff for its new call centre on Teesside, which will take the total workforce to 450. [20-Oct-2000]

Abbey National has announced a £457m deal with Mapeley Columbus for the sale and leaseback of its 722 branches and London head office. [20-Oct-2000]

Misys is to develop an internet portal for general insurance brokers in partnership with Axa, Groupama Insurances, Royal & Sun Alliance, Allianz Cornhill and Zurich. [19-Oct-2000]

Amvescap is to acquire Perpetual, the independent investment manager, for £1.05bn. [19-Oct-2000]

Collins Stewart, the stockbroker, is to raise £70m in a flotation, in order to reduce debt and develop its online share analysis database. [18-Oct-2000]

Lloyds TSB is to set up a new banking call centre in Pencoed, Bridgend, next year, with the creation of more than 400 jobs. [16-Oct-2000]

James R Knowles, the claims consultant, is rationalising its UK branch network by closing its Birmingham office and moving staff to its Midland base at Sutton Coldfield. [12-Oct-2000]

Scottish Widows is to outsource the back office functions of its investment management business to State Street of the US, including trustee, custody, accounting and investment administration. [12-Oct-2000]

Aberdeen Asset Management is to acquire Murray Johnstone of Glasgow for about £150m, as part of a strategy to become a leading retail fund manager. [11-Oct-2000]

Prudential is to buy 88% of Core Pacific Securities Investment Trust Enterprise, the Taiwanese mutual fund company, for £71m, in order to expand its Asian business. [11-Oct-2000]

Merrill Lynch is linking up with HSBC to set up a network of local investment centres, in order to provide a physical presence to support their online share dealing services. [09-Oct-2000]

Alliance & Leicester is to restructure its retail banking business into three divisions based on customers' use of the internet, which will make it easier to sell more products to each customer. [09-Oct-2000]

Scottish Equitable Asset Management is to change its name to Aegon Asset Management next year, in order to use the brand of its Dutch parent company. [09-Oct-2000]

Close Brothers, the merchant bank, has received a preliminary takeover approach from BNP Paribas of France. [06-Oct-2000]

Man Group is buying the client brokerage accounts of First American Discount Corporation of Chicago for about £3m. [05-Oct-2000]

CGNU is looking to acquire a mid-sized fund manager in the US, as part of the global expansion of its Morley Fund Management division. [04-Oct-2000]

Cox Insurance is to sell Groves John & Westrup, the Liverpool-based cargo and pleasure craft insurer, to Munich Re for undisclosed terms. [04-Oct-2000]

Unum is to set up a personal insurance office in Bristol next year, with the creation of up to 200 jobs by 2003. [03-Oct-2000]

Royal London is to acquire Scottish Life, the pensions provider, for £1.1bn, which will lead to the relocation of Scottish Life's investment management arm to London. [03-Oct-2000]

Schroders has won approval to set up a private bank called Schroder & Co, which will handle all of its private client business in the UK. [03-Oct-2000]

Blackwood Trading of the US is planning to set up a day-trading centre for investors in the Holborn area of London in partnership with Tradition Financial Services, and regional centres may be added in Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. [03-Oct-2000]

Incuvest, the US venture capital group, is to set up a new operation in London and is looking to develop links with European universities and technology centres. [02-Oct-2000]

Halifax is to recruit an additional 150 staff at its Card Services headquarters in Cardiff, taking the workforce to 450 by the end of the year. [29-Sep-2000]

First Data Resources is to shed 700 jobs at its credit card processing operations in Southend and Basildon. [29-Sep-2000]

Abbey National is seeking a merger partner in continental Europe as it believes there is little scope for further consolidation in the UK banking market, and is particularly interested in Italy. [29-Sep-2000]

Inter-Alliance is to take on Lincoln National's 1,000-strong UK salesforce, in order to become one of the leading providers of independent financial advice. [29-Sep-2000]

Murray Financial is to create up to 100 jobs at its new Insurancevillage financial services call centre in Worcester. [28-Sep-2000]

Bank of Scotland is planning up to 140 compulsorily redundancies in its Welsh operations, as part of a strategy to cut its workforce by 5% by outsourcing non-banking activities. [28-Sep-2000]

Halifax is to close its independent financial advice division, and 130 staff will be offered alternative jobs. [28-Sep-2000]

Underwriter Insurance has raised a further £26m from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Capital Partners to fund the expansion of its commercial insurance business, and has also announced a deal to provide underwriting management to GE Specialty. [28-Sep-2000]

Cox Insurance is to withdraw from the market for marine insurance and restructure its commercial division to scale down other underperforming areas. [26-Sep-2000]

CGNU is to sell its US property and casualty insurance business to White Mountains of Bermuda for £2.17bn. [26-Sep-2000]

Aberdeen Asset Management has acquired Barclays Property Investment from Barclays for £20m. [25-Sep-2000]

KPMG is selling Orbis, the Channel Islands-based trust and company administration business, to Dresdner Bank for undisclosed terms. [25-Sep-2000]

Towergate has acquired the general insurance arm of Medical Insurance Agency, which includes a call centre in Stevenage providing motor, home and surgery insurance. [22-Sep-2000]

Britannia Building Society is looking to set up branch-sharing agreements with other mutuals, following the recently-announced deal with Yorkshire Building Society. [22-Sep-2000]

Friends Ivory & Sime is planning to become a leading player in the retail investment market by launching a number of new unit trusts and open-ended investment companies. [20-Sep-2000]

Lloyds TSB is creating 170 new jobs at its mortgage unit in Scunthorpe, taking staff numbers to more than 400. [19-Sep-2000]

Kingsbridge is to acquire John Murray, the Glasgow-based financial adviser, for £3.5m. [18-Sep-2000]

Canary Wharf Group has signed up Northern Trust Company, the US financial services consultancy, to occupy a 135,000 sq ft office next to the new Clifford Chance headquarters. [18-Sep-2000]

CGNU is looking to sell its 70% stake in Quilter, the private client investment manager. [18-Sep-2000]

Cavell Management Services has acquired Peter Blem Adjusters, the London market claims adjusting specialist, for undisclosed terms. [15-Sep-2000]

Standard Life is forming a joint venture with Hannoversche Leben to sell pensions in Germany. [15-Sep-2000]

IFG Group is planning to acquire Berkeley Jacobs Financial Services, the pensions adviser, for up to £12m. [14-Sep-2000]

The London Stock Exchange has pulled out of plans to merge with Deutsche Borse, in order to defend itself against the hostile bid from OM Group of Sweden. [13-Sep-2000]

Link, the cash machine network, has started work on the construction of a new £5m headquarters at the Harlow 2000 Business Park in Harrogate, which will employ more than 100 staff from October 2001. [12-Sep-2000]

NewMedia Spark, the internet incubator, is to acquire New Media Investors, the corporate finance company, for £10m. [12-Sep-2000]

Bristol & West is preparing to relocate more than 1,000 employees across Bristol to a new headquarters at Temple Quay. [11-Sep-2000]

British Telecom has announced plans to set up a network of 10,000 automatic teller machines that will enable people to top up pre-paid mobile phone cards and buy electronic currency to spend on the internet. [11-Sep-2000]

Sportscard, the supplier of credit cards to sports fans, is planning to raise £14m in a share placing on Aim, with some of the proceeds being spent on a marketing campaign. [11-Sep-2000]

Tenon Group has acquired the non-audit operations of London-based Morison Stoneham for £10m, as part of a strategy to create a network of accounting services firms. [11-Sep-2000]

Bradford & Bingley has announced plans to transform itself into a financial services intermediary by setting up a number of internet-based services to sell products from other companies. [11-Sep-2000]

Centrica is looking to significantly expand its Goldfish financial services business by forming partnerships in credit cards, home loans and insurance. [08-Sep-2000]

Co-operative Bank is to re-enter the mortgage market next month, following a gap of 10 years. [08-Sep-2000]

Bradford & Bingley has sold its company relocation division to Cendant for undisclosed terms, and Cendant will use the Windsor-based business as a base to expand its European operations. [08-Sep-2000]

Scottish Life, the pensions specialist, is to review its mutual status, which could lead to the business being sold for about £1bn. [07-Sep-2000]

Viridian has acquired Footman James & Company, the Birmingham-based vehicle insurance broker, for undisclosed terms, and the business will be combined with its Open & Direct financial services division. [06-Sep-2000]

Old Mutual is planning to return to the UK life assurance market next year by using the low-cost structure of its South African operation. [06-Sep-2000]

Christows, the stockbroker, has been acquired by eVestment, the investment group, for £39m. [05-Sep-2000]

Abbey National is to acquire Scottish Provident, the life assurer, for £1.8bn, but Scottish Provident's 38% stake in Aberdeen Asset Management will be sold off before the deal is completed. [04-Sep-2000]

Moneyextra is to conduct a strategic review of its online financial services business, which could lead to a sale of part or all of the company. [04-Sep-2000]

Standard Chartered has sold its Chartered Trust leasing and motor finance subsidiary to Lloyds TSB for £627m, and has also announced the acquisition of Chase Manhattan's credit card business in Hong Kong for £825m. [04-Sep-2000]

Singer & Friedlander is planning to float Carnegie, its Swedish broking business, next year. [04-Sep-2000]

Royal & Sun Alliance is considering plans to acquire If, the Scandinavian non-life insurance group valued at up to £1.4bn. [01-Sep-2000]

ED&F Man is to acquire Glenwood Group, the US fund management company, for £76m. [01-Sep-2000]

Grafton Recruitment of Belfast has won a £1m contract to open three new offices in central Europe for Expandia Bank, a Czech financial institution, which will involve the recruitment of 500 staff. [31-Aug-2000]

Britannic is to pay £57m for a 60% stake in First Active Financial, the UK mortgage division of First Active, as part of a strategy to transform itself into a modern financial services group. [31-Aug-2000]

WestLB Panmure is to withdraw from equity research and sales in utilities, oil and gas, property and construction, in order to focus on technology, media and life sciences. [31-Aug-2000]

Cox Insurance is planning to create up to 500 call centre jobs in Bradford over the next year, having won a number of new contracts from leading internet companies. [30-Aug-2000]

The London Stock Exchange has rejected a £822m takeover offer from OM Group of Sweden, but the approach could disrupt its plans to merge with Deutsche Borse. [30-Aug-2000]

Collins Stewart, the stockbroker, is considering plans for a flotation in order to raise up to £70m to develop its online share evaluation service and to reduce debt. [28-Aug-2000]

Royal & Sun Alliance is considering plans for a partial flotation of its fund management arm, in order to boost its share price. [28-Aug-2000]

Deutsche Bank is to conduct a review of its 22 properties in the City of London, which could result in the relocation of all employees to Canary Wharf. [28-Aug-2000]

Virgin is planning to move into home and motor insurance in partnership with the AA. [23-Aug-2000]

Alexander Forbes is planning to make a number of UK acquisitions in the near future, including retail insurance brokers and financial services companies. [22-Aug-2000]

Standard Chartered is closing its share underwriting and mergers and acquisitions business in Singapore and Hong Kong, in order to focus on commercial banking. [22-Aug-2000]

Next is to create 220 jobs at its Ventura call centre in the Dearne Valley, having won a contract from Woolwich to manage a new integrated personal finance plan. [18-Aug-2000]

Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Unisys are forming a new company called Intelligent Processing Solutions to supply cheque clearing and processing services to the two banks, with Barclays providing 745 staff and Lloyds 600. [18-Aug-2000]

Thomas Cook is looking to sell its financial services business for about £300m, in order to focus on its travel operations. [17-Aug-2000]

Scottish Provident is selling its Scoplife insurance business in Greece to Aspis Pronia for undisclosed terms. [16-Aug-2000]

Yorkshire Building Society and the Britannia Building Society are to link their branch networks so that customers can use any branch for simple transactions, and other building societies are also expected to join the alliance. [16-Aug-2000]

CGNU is selling its 51% stake in its South African joint venture to Mutual & Federal for £115m. [16-Aug-2000]

Norton Rose, the City law firm, is considering plans to merge with Gaedertz of Germany. [15-Aug-2000]

Barclays has reached agreement for the £5.3bn acquisition of the Woolwich mortgage bank, which will result in about 100 branch closures and the loss of 1,000 jobs. [14-Aug-2000]

Retail Decisions is planning to acquire International Card Enterprises for £11m, in order to expand its card payment services business. [11-Aug-2000]

Barclays is planning to launch a £5.3bn takeover bid for Woolwich in order to increase its share of the mortgage market. [10-Aug-2000]

KPMG has announced plans to split off its consultancy division into a £3.7bn public company later this year. [08-Aug-2000]

Firth Holdings, the cash shell, is planning a reverse takeover of Kinetech, the e-business subsidiary that is being demerged from broker Prebon Yamane. [08-Aug-2000]

Andersen Consulting is to split from the accounting firm Arthur Andersen following a court ruling in Paris, but will have to give up the rights to the AC name. [08-Aug-2000]

CGNU is to shed up to 250 jobs through the closure of its loss-making global risk business. [07-Aug-2000]

GlobalNetFinancial.com has acquired Dalton Kent Securities, the US financial brokerage, for £13m. [04-Aug-2000]

Pearl Assurance is to open a new sales support centre in Cardiff later this year, with the creation of nearly 200 jobs. [04-Aug-2000]

Prudential is to set up a second call centre for its Egg internet bank in Derby, with the creation of 1,500 jobs. [04-Aug-2000]

Deloitte & Touche is planning to create more than 100 jobs over the next five years at a new pensions administration unit in Glasgow. [04-Aug-2000]

Standard Chartered has announced a £480m restructuring plan for its international banking business, which will involve 4,800 job losses and an investment of £280m in new customer service systems. [03-Aug-2000]

Murray Johnstone, the Glasgow-based investment house, has put itself up for sale, having been approached by a number of potential buyers. [03-Aug-2000]

Euro Sales Finance, the invoice discounting and factoring company, is planning to open four offices in France and two in Germany this year. [02-Aug-2000]

Market Age, the supplier of online information to City traders, has raised £4.3m from PPM Ventures to fund the expansion of its product range and its sales operation. [02-Aug-2000]

Great Universal Stores is selling its Highway Vehicle Management business in the US to Abbey National for £170m, and has also announced plans to close its General Guarantee Finance division with the loss of 600 jobs. [02-Aug-2000]

Axa Sun Life has confirmed plans to relocate more work to India, which will lead to the loss of 250 jobs in Bristol and elsewhere in the UK. [02-Aug-2000]

Herbert Smith is to form an alliance with Gleiss Lutz Hootz Hirsch of Germany, in order to share the resources of 845 lawyers in 12 countries, and a full merger could follow. [31-Jul-2000]

Charterhouse Securities is to be acquired by ING for £127m, enabling the Dutch company to expand its UK corporate broking business. [31-Jul-2000]

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is to move into the UK home loans market, selling flexible mortgages from a new call centre in Glasgow with more than 50 staff. [31-Jul-2000]

Bank of Ireland is to acquire Chase de Vere, the Bath-based independent financial adviser, for £110m, and will combine the business with its Bristol & West division. [31-Jul-2000]

Arthur Bown and PM Martin have merged their Leicester-based insurance broking businesses to form the Martin Bown Group. [31-Jul-2000]

Nelson Money Managers is planning to create 180 jobs in the north west over the next three years, and will start by opening new offices in Northwich. [31-Jul-2000]

Merrill Lynch Investment Managers is to spin off its Mercury Private Equity buy-out division into an independent management company. [28-Jul-2000]

Swiss Life is planning to relocate its Crosby-based client service centre to larger premises at Liverpool's Albert Dock, with the creation of 500 jobs. [28-Jul-2000]

St James's Place Capital is forming a joint venture with Securitas Capital to develop a European financial services business. [27-Jul-2000]

Abbey National is planning to expand its business banking service, in response to the Competition Commission's investigation into the domination of the market by the big four high street banks. [26-Jul-2000]

CGNU is to sell General Accident Versicherung, its German general insurance business, to Gerling-Konzern Lebensversicherung for undisclosed terms. [26-Jul-2000]

Littlewoods is planning to create a further 120 jobs at its new financial services call centre in Sunderland, which is a joint venture with the Woolwich. [26-Jul-2000]

Lloyds TSB is forming a £20m joint venture with Antfactory called Valuefactory Ventures, which will set up internet businesses in the financial services sector. [25-Jul-2000]

Linklaters is to merge with Oppenhoff & Radler of Germany, consolidating its position as one of Europe's leading law firms specialising in mergers and acquisitions work. [24-Jul-2000]

Northern Rock is hoping to get planning permission next month for a new £30m banking headquarters in Gosforth, Newcastle, and plans to create 300 jobs annually over the next seven years. [24-Jul-2000]

The Post Office is to create about 40 jobs at a new £5m banking administration centre at the Nexus Point business park in Birmingham, and a further 180 staff will be relocated from two existing centres at Castle Vale and Castle Bromwich. [24-Jul-2000]

Scottish Provident, the mutual life assurer, is in takeover discussions with a list of five potential bidders, and is expected to be valued at more than £1.2bn. [21-Jul-2000]

Equitable Life, the mutual life assurer, has put itself up for sale following a court ruling that it had unlawfully reduced final bonuses paid to 90,000 policy holders. [21-Jul-2000]

Churchill Insurance is to open a new claims unit in Ipswich in October, with the creation of 120 jobs. [21-Jul-2000]

Alliance & Leicester is to rename its Girobank small-business division to Alliance Business Banking, and is also looking to set up a joint venture with an invoice discounting and factoring supplier. [20-Jul-2000]

Siemens Business Services is to take over the management of the Barclays Bank processing centre in Leicester later this year, while work currently being done at the Barclays site in Maidstone will move to the SBS site in Glasgow. [20-Jul-2000]

Seymour Pierce is to acquire PFM, the asset management group, for up to £13m. [20-Jul-2000]

Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance is to set up a new headquarters for its Alex Lawrie financial services business at the Banbury Cross Business Park in Banbury later this year. [19-Jul-2000]

RP Hodson has bought a 76% stake in John Wimble Insurance Brokers, the London City brokerage, for about £1.8m. [19-Jul-2000]

CGNU has announced a £600m deal to acquire 50% stakes in Royal Scottish Assurance and NatWest Life Assurance, in order to finalise an agreement made with Royal Bank of Scotland during the bank's takeover negotiations with NatWest. [18-Jul-2000]

MGt is to create a further 500 jobs at its customer relations management business in Fife over the next two years, following a £4m investment. [17-Jul-2000]

Abbey National is looking to raise about £460m by selling off its property portfolio, but would continue to occupy the network of branches and offices under a 20-year flexible contract. [17-Jul-2000]

Bradford & Bingley's members have voted in favour of demutualisation, and the building society will make its stock market debut in December. [17-Jul-2000]

Bridgend Group is to undergo a reverse takeover by Hemscott.net, the online financial information company that is also raising £16m in a share placing. [14-Jul-2000]

Dial Direct is to buy 0700 2 Insure, the Redditch-based insurance intermediary that collapsed last week, and expects to re-employ up to 130 staff. [14-Jul-2000]

Jellyworks, the internet investment vehicle, is to be acquired by Shore Capital in a £64m deal that is conditional on Shore joining Aim. [12-Jul-2000]

The Bank of England is planning to consolidate its City of London staff into one building by 2004, and will put its One New Change office up for sale for about £175m. [11-Jul-2000]

Propertyfinder, the online estate agency, has been acquired by a consortium of Arts Alliance and Hamptons International in a £5.5m deal. [10-Jul-2000]

Deloitte & Touche is looking to float its CSL outsourcing business with a valuation of up to £200m, in order to raise funds for growth and acquisitions. [10-Jul-2000]

Royal London, the life assurer, is to create a further 180 jobs in Wilmslow, Cheshire, but 450 more jobs are being shed in Colchester following its acquisition of United Assurance. [07-Jul-2000]

Tradepoint has won regulatory clearance to provide direct trading of European stocks to its US members, as part of a strategy to increase the volumes going through its London-based equities trading platform. [06-Jul-2000]

CPP is looking to recruit a further 500 staff at its credit card call centre in York this year. [06-Jul-2000]

Culver Holdings, the insurance broker, is acquiring Aortech Systems, the supplier of IT solutions to the travel industry, for £4.5m. [06-Jul-2000]

Abbey National is to test a franchise scheme in its bank branches, in order to share risk and profits with local branch managers and to respond to growing competition from internet banks. [03-Jul-2000]

Hammond Suddards is to close the recently-acquired Edge Ellison corporate solicitors office in Leicester in October, and up to 60 jobs will be transferred to Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and London. [30-Jun-2000]

The Industrial Development Board is in negotiations with Insurance Advisory Service about plans to set up a new call centre in west Belfast in September, with the creation of 100 jobs. [30-Jun-2000]

Bank of Scotland is outsourcing its computer operations to IBM, in a £700m deal that will involve the transfer of about 500 staff. [29-Jun-2000]

Clifford Chance, the law firm, has confirmed plans to relocate from the City of London to Canary Wharf. [29-Jun-2000]

Limit is to be acquired by QBE of Australia for £375m, which will make QBE the biggest Lloyd's of London insurer. [29-Jun-2000]

Esure is to set up a call centre in Manchester for its online insurance business, creating 70 jobs this year and several hundred over the next few years. [29-Jun-2000]

Standard Life has defeated a move to demutualise the business, with only 45.7% of the members who voted supporting demutualisation. [28-Jun-2000]

Grant Thornton is in merger talks with HLB Kidsons to create a combined accountancy group with about 4,000 employees and 71 offices. [28-Jun-2000]

Baker Tilly is to merge with Fraser Russell to create a combined accountancy group with almost 1,000 employees at 17 locations. [27-Jun-2000]

Beeson Gregory is to set up a fund management division, as part of a strategy to develop a financial services business around its skills in small companies. [27-Jun-2000]

Marsh is planning to create 1,200 jobs in the UK over the next five years, with moves to sell insurance broking and consultancy services to small and medium-sized businesses. [27-Jun-2000]

WH Ireland, the Manchester-based stockbroker, is planning to raise £1.2m in a flotation on Aim in order to fund the expansion of its London office. [26-Jun-2000]

Halifax has acquired Bank One's UK credit card operation, and plans to relocate most of its existing cards business to Cardiff. [23-Jun-2000]

Birmingham Midshires is to close 47 of its 113 branches by the end of the year, but hopes to find alternative work for the 220 staff. [23-Jun-2000]

Moneyextra has shed 35 jobs at its emfinance.com online mortgage business in Livingston, and will rebrand the service and transfer the work to Woking. [23-Jun-2000]

Hampden Agencies and SOC Group are to merge to create the largest members' agency in the Lloyds insurance market, and their tax consultancy divisions will also be merged. [22-Jun-2000]

Merrill Lynch is to set up a new customer service centre for its global online banking business in Leamington Spa, with the creation of 400 jobs. [22-Jun-2000]

Freshfields has announced plans to merge with Bruckhaus Westrick Heller Lober of Germany to create a combined law firm with 30 offices in 19 countries. [21-Jun-2000]

Halifax is to shed up to 300 jobs at offices in West Yorkshire over the next six months, but there will be no compulsory redundancies. [21-Jun-2000]

Apax Partners is planning to merge its investment banking division with Gold-Zack Group of Germany, and the business will be renamed Altium Capital. [20-Jun-2000]

AMP of Australia is launching a new UK bank, which will offer a range of services to the 3m customers of its Pearl Assurance division. [19-Jun-2000]

Knutsford is to acquire WILink, the US-based supplier of financial information, for £55m, as part of a strategy to transform itself into an online investment bank and information group. [19-Jun-2000]

Britannic is investing £25m in the launch of Evergreen Retirement Assurance, in order to offer financial services to pensioners. [16-Jun-2000]

CGNU is in negotiations to sell its 51% stake in the CGU general insurance business in South Africa to Old Mutual, and is also looking to withdraw from the Canadian life market. [16-Jun-2000]

PricewaterhouseCoopers has set up a new regional headquarters building in Cardiff city centre, in order to strengthen its position in the Welsh market for accountancy and management consultancy services. [15-Jun-2000]

Reuters has announced a £23m equity investment and strategic alliance with Pedestal, the US-based secondary mortgage marketplace operator. [14-Jun-2000]

Winterthur Life is to cut its ties with the 490-strong direct salesforce of Colonial Life UK, and may relocate the headquarters of the recently-acquired business from Chatham to Basingstoke. [14-Jun-2000]

Axa Sun Life is considering plans to move some clerical insurance jobs from Bristol to Bangalore, in order to benefit from India's cheaper workforce. [14-Jun-2000]

Capital One is planning a £60m expansion at its credit card call centre in Nottingham, with the creation of up to 1,200 jobs. [13-Jun-2000]

Imperial Consolidated Group is planning to recruit more than 100 new staff over the next two years at its financial services call centre and offices on the former RAF Binbrook base near Grimsby. [13-Jun-2000]

IG Index, the City bookmaker, is planning to raise £15m in a flotation next month, and will use some of the proceeds to enable the 115 staff to benefit from their options. [12-Jun-2000]

Claims Direct is planning to raise about £100m in a flotation next month, in order to fund the expansion of its personal injury claims business. [12-Jun-2000]

Skandia Life is planning to expand its international finance business in Southampton with the creation of about 270 jobs, while 500 staff based in the present offices will be relocated to Mountbatten House in Grosvenor Square. [12-Jun-2000]

ED&F Man is to change its name to Man Group, following its transformation from an agricultural products business into a financial services company. [09-Jun-2000]

Derbyshire Building Society is to shed up to 70 jobs by the end of the year, as part of an efficiency programme. [09-Jun-2000]

Beenz.com, the developer of a virtual currency for the internet, has raised £33m in second-round funding in order to develop its business in 15 countries. [07-Jun-2000]

Brewin Dolphin is to acquire Hill Osborne, the Leicester-based stockbroker, for up to £31m, which will expand its branch network to 31. [06-Jun-2000]

EasyJet is planning to launch an internet-based financial services business called Easymoney, in order to offer consumer credit and mortgages. [06-Jun-2000]

Domestic & General is to create a further 100 jobs at its insurance call centre in Nottingham. [06-Jun-2000]

Bennetts GB is to set up an insurance call centre in Worcester, with the creation of up to 200 jobs over the next 12 months. [06-Jun-2000]

Edinburgh Fund Managers has acquired Northern Venture Managers, the Newcastle-based private equity firm, for up to £9m. [05-Jun-2000]

Bradstock is looking to sell its insurance broking business in order to satisfy its liabilities and invest in the remaining reinsurance operation. [02-Jun-2000]

RapidInsure is planning to raise £6m in a share issue in order to fund the development of its online insurance shop. [02-Jun-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland is to close its RoyScot Trust asset finance office in Cheltenham over the next six months, with the loss of up to 220 jobs. [01-Jun-2000]

Standard Chartered is looking to sell Chartered Trust, its consumer finance and contract hire business, in order to raise about £600m and focus on its operations in emerging markets. [31-May-2000]

Perpetual, the fund manager, is considering plans to put itself up for auction, having received a number of approaches. [31-May-2000]

NewMedia Spark has acquired Softtechnet.com, the rival internet incubator fund, for £30m, and has also announced plans to expand into India. [30-May-2000]

Royal London Insurance is to shed 300 of the 1,200 jobs at its customer service department in Colchester, in order to transfer the operation to the former United Assurance head office in Wilmslow, Cheshire, where 100 jobs will be created. [26-May-2000]

Link is to recruit up to 15 new providers of cash machines following a decision to allow non-banks to join its network, which will lead to the installation of thousands of new machines. [25-May-2000]

Northern Rock has awarded a contract to Laing for the first phase of a £20m extension to its headquarters in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. [25-May-2000]

Barclays has announced plans to spend £325m on e-commerce this year, including the development of an online savings account and a share-dealing facility for mobile phones. [24-May-2000]

Northern Bank is to expand its customer service centre in Dunmurry in order to support the retail operations of its Republic-based sister National Irish Bank, with the creation of 42 jobs. [24-May-2000]

Tradepoint is considering plans to form an alliance with the Swiss stock exchange to develop a pan-European trading platform. [23-May-2000]

Murray Financial has acquired Insurance Village, the online insurance quoting service, for about £0.2m, and expects to make an offer for a building society later this year. [23-May-2000]

Proudfoot Consulting has sold its Japanese management consulting business to local management for about £29m. [23-May-2000]

Marsh & McLennan is planning to recruit 100 staff at its new Affinity Group Division in Witham, Essex, in order to focus on employee benefit and specialist insurance packages. [22-May-2000]

EDS is planning to recruit 400 staff at a new £8m financial services call centre in Peterlee. [22-May-2000]

CGU is forming a bancassurance partnership with Bancaja of Spain, in which it will acquire management control of Bancaja's Aseval life insurance subsidiary. [19-May-2000]

Gleacher, the Wall Street investment bank, is planning to set up an office in London, and will then spin off a new company called GXi to be floated on the London Stock Exchange. [19-May-2000]

3i is acquiring SFK Finance of Finland for an initial £6.9m, in order to expand its share of the venture capital market in Scandinavia. [19-May-2000]

Norwich Union is to relocate up to 230 jobs from Norwich to London, having decided to combine the administrative support for its asset management business with that of CGU. [19-May-2000]

Anglo Irish Bank is in merger talks with First Active, in order to move into the mortgage market. [16-May-2000]

Lombard Street Research, the financial research house, has undergone a management buy-out from Gerrard Group for undisclosed terms. [16-May-2000]

Zurich Financial Services is to relocate its specialist life assurance arm from Fareham to Swindon over the next 12 months, with the transfer of up to 200 jobs. [16-May-2000]

Dickinson Dees, the Tyneside-based law firm, is planning to open a Tees Valley office, employing 10-20 staff. [16-May-2000]

Clifford Chance, the law firm, is considering plans to move out of its Aldersgate Street headquarters and is seeking suitable City of London alternatives of up to 750,000 sq ft. [15-May-2000]

Skipton Building Society has bought a majority stake in Computer Aided Sales Technology of Cambridge, in order to help with the development of an internet-based trading platform. [15-May-2000]

Bank of Ireland is looking to acquire fund management and independent financial advice businesses in the UK, and has also announced plans to close some of its Irish branches and to relocate its administration centre outside Dublin. [12-May-2000]

Schroders is to acquire Liberty International Pensions, the insurance and pensions company that is 80% owned by Liberty International, in a £60m deal. [12-May-2000]

Devitt Insurance Services is to recruit an additional 100 staff when it relocates from east London to Romford in June. [12-May-2000]

Bank of America is planning to expand its European investment banking operation, and is looking to recruit London-based analysts and mergers and acquisitions specialists. [11-May-2000]

Lloyds TSB is to launch an internet bank called Evolvebank later this year, employing up to 100 staff at a call centre in Glasgow. [11-May-2000]

Hogg Robinson, the business travel agency, has agreed to a £232m management buy-out, which will take the company private. [11-May-2000]

CGU is to invest £40m in a new home-moving business on the internet, which will offer a database of 180,000 properties from more than 3,000 estate agents. [11-May-2000]

The London Metal Exchange is planning to abandon its mutual status and adopt a shareholding structure. [11-May-2000]

Drake Insurance, the Brighton-based insurance company, has been ordered by the Financial Services Authority not to take on any new customers until it raises enough cash to cover predicted claims, which puts 170 jobs at risk. [11-May-2000]

Bank of Scotland has awarded a £190m contract to First Banking Systems, its joint venture with FI, for the development of commercial software and information systems. [10-May-2000]

Halifax has announced plans to launch a number of new online accounts through its Intelligent Finance subsidiary in July, which will enable customers to set off savings against borrowings in order to obtain the best overall interest rate. [10-May-2000]

Hoodless Brennan is planning to float on Aim next month, in order to raise £30m for the expansion of its corporate stockbroking business. [09-May-2000]

Lloyds TSB is planning to set up a telephone banking customer service centre at the Sunderland Enterprise Park, with the creation of 500 jobs, and a similar facility will also be developed in Newcastle. [09-May-2000]

Windsor Life Assurance has shed 50 jobs at its life and pensions business in Harlow, and a further 200 will go when it relocates to Telford in August. [09-May-2000]

Spar is considering plans to offer basic banking services at its stores, in order to replace the bank branches being closed in rural areas. [08-May-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland is to sell Ulster Bank Investment Managers to KBC Group of Brussels for about £60m. [08-May-2000]

Friends Provident, the mutual life assurer, is considering plans to seek a stock market listing next year, and the proceeds would be used to expand its stakeholder pensions business. [05-May-2000]

TD Waterhouse is planning to create 100 jobs at a new share dealing office in Bradford city centre. [05-May-2000]

The London Stock Exchange has announced plans to merge with Deutsche Borse, and the combined group will form an alliance with Nasdaq. [04-May-2000]

Skipton Building Society has sold its telephone share dealing business to TD Waterhouse for £82m. [04-May-2000]

Limit, the Lloyd's insurance group, has received a £320m takeover offer from QBE of Australia, but the deal is conditional on Limit not proceeding with its planned merger with Wellington Underwriting. [03-May-2000]

Sun Life & Provincial has agreed to a £2.37bn offer from its French parent Axa for the remaining 43.7% stake not currently controlled by Axa. [03-May-2000]

Winterthur Life is to acquire the UK life assurance business of Colonial of Australia for £301m. [03-May-2000]

Great Universal Stores is looking to sell its two main finance operations - General Guarantee Finance and Highway Vehicle Management - in order to raise up to £400m for its core business. [02-May-2000]

The Post Office is developing plans to set up a new banking network, in order to provide financial services to people without bank accounts and to replace the local branches being closed down by the leading banks. [02-May-2000]

Cazenove is to launch a £250m technology fund called Cazenove New Europe Access Fund, to invest in new unquoted media and telecoms companies. [28-Apr-2000]

Standard Chartered is to acquire banking group Grindlays from its Australian parent ANZ for £823m, in order to become the leading international bank in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. [28-Apr-2000]

Bland Bankart, the independent insurance broker with 220 staff throughout the country, is to move its group headquarters to Bede Island in Leicester. [27-Apr-2000]

Scottish Equitable is seeking 100 new staff for its insurance headquarters in Edinburgh. [27-Apr-2000]

Standard Life, the insurance company, has agreed to demands from campaigners to hold a vote within three months on whether to end its mutual status. [26-Apr-2000]

CGU is planning to invest £20m in e-commerce companies through a fund called Quester, in order to enhance its online capability by building relationships with external companies. [26-Apr-2000]

Prudential is to acquire Highland Federal Bank of southern California for £75m, through its US-based Jackson National Life subsidiary. [26-Apr-2000]

The Post Office has acquired a 49% stake in Cashtec, the cash machine servicing company, for £7m. [25-Apr-2000]

Jardine Lloyd Thompson is to acquire Burke Ford Group for an initial £5m, to create a combined retail insurance business operating within the JLT Corporate Risks & Services division. [25-Apr-2000]

Johnstone Douglas, the financial planning consultancy, has been acquired by Alexander Forbes of South Africa for £42m. [20-Apr-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland has announced plans for the integration of National Westminster at a cost £1.4bn, including a reduction in its London property and the loss of 9,000 jobs this year. [20-Apr-2000]

Liffe is to lease 68,000 sq ft of trading floor to Knight Trimark, the US stockbroker that aims to employ 200 staff in London by the end of the year. [20-Apr-2000]

Scottish Equitable is planning to rebrand its recently-acquired Guardian Employee Benefits division as Scottish Equitable Employee Benefits, in order to become a leading provider of group pensions. [20-Apr-2000]

Lynx is to acquire Bankhall Investment Management, the supplier of support services to independent financial advisers, for up to £114m, in order to develop an internet trading platform for the IFA market. [19-Apr-2000]

Woolwich has launched a mobile internet banking service following a successful trial, and cut-price phones will be sold through an alliance with Nokia and Vodafone. [19-Apr-2000]

HSBC is linking up with Merrill Lynch to develop a $1bn London-based online financial institution, in order to provide a range of services to non-US investors. [19-Apr-2000]

Oyster Partners is receiving a £15m investment from Omnicom and Trader.com of the US, in order to fund the expansion of its London-based e-business consultancy. [19-Apr-2000]

EPO.com of Sweden is to set up a London-based online investment bank in partnership with Virtuelles Emissionhaus of Germany, as part of a strategy to become a leader for new issues over the internet. [19-Apr-2000]

Warburg Dillon Read, the investment banking arm of UBS, is planning to add a further 100 staff to its 1,150-strong European equities team. [19-Apr-2000]

Linklaters is to set up a new company called Blueflag.com to sell its legal services online, and it will start with a £5m investment and about 25 staff. [17-Apr-2000]

HSBC is considering plans to sell CCF Charterhouse, the London-based investment banking division of Credit Commercial de France. [17-Apr-2000]

Marks & Spencer is moving into the general insurance market with the launch of home and contents policies, underwritten by CGU. [14-Apr-2000]

Abbey National is to shed 500 branch jobs, and the staff will be asked to reapply for jobs in management and insurance sales. [14-Apr-2000]

Singer & Friedlander has sold its Collins Stewart stockbroking business to management for £122m, in order to focus on banking and fund management. [14-Apr-2000]

Ashton Morton Slack is to merge with the Law Partnership to create a combined Sheffield-based law firm called AMS Law, with 16 partners. [14-Apr-2000]

Julian Hodge Bank Group has won planning permission to set up a new headquarters at the Cardiff Gate Business Park, in order to house its 300 Cardiff-based staff. [14-Apr-2000]

Options Direct has launched the first share trading service for WAP-enabled mobile phones, under the trading name of MyBroker. [13-Apr-2000]

Irwin Mitchell, the law firm, is planning to launch an investment and fund management service, with the creation of 30 jobs in Sheffield. [13-Apr-2000]

Barclays is planning to train customers in the use of internet banking, and has warned that further branch closures are likely if the growth in telephone and internet banking continues. [12-Apr-2000]

Robert Fleming, the investment bank, is to be acquired by Chase Manhattan of the US for £4.8bn, and job losses are expected to be minimal. [12-Apr-2000]

Royal & Sun Alliance is forming a joint venture with Sundaram Finance to launch non-life insurance products in India. [12-Apr-2000]

Capita is to acquire IRG, the share registration service, for £100m, in order to expand its back-office administration services into the private sector. [12-Apr-2000]

Prudential is to acquire a 37.5% stake in IFonline, the electronic trading platform for mortgages, at a cost of £15m. [10-Apr-2000]

Brewin Dolphin is to acquire Broadbridge, the Yorkshire-based stockbroker, for up to £10m. [07-Apr-2000]

Barclays is to make basic personal banking services available at post office outlets, in order to reduce the impact of closing many of its rural branches. [07-Apr-2000]

Scottish Provident, the life assurer, is conducting a review of its mutual status, and analysts estimate the business could be valued at more than £1bn. [07-Apr-2000]

Aberdeen Asset Management is to open an office in San Francisco, as part of a strategy to locate fund managers in the time zone of the assets they manage. [07-Apr-2000]

Exchange Holdings is acquiring Aspect Online, the German internet financial services business, for £31m, and has also announced plans to change its name to Moneyextra. [06-Apr-2000]

Rathbones is moving its Bristol-based stockbroking business to new offices in Prince Street. [06-Apr-2000]

HSBC Select is to transfer 260 jobs from two sites in Newcastle-under-Lyme to a new Auto Direct call centre in Stoke-on-Trent, and a further 100 new jobs will be created. [06-Apr-2000]

Abbey National is considering plans to sell its wholesale banking operation, unless it is given a higher valuation by the market. [05-Apr-2000]

CGU is linking up with Tesco Personal Finance to launch a series of new life assurance, pension and investment products. [05-Apr-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired a 39% stake in TrustMarque, the e-commerce security specialist, for £4m, in order to develop new internet applications. [05-Apr-2000]

Idealab of the US is to set up a London office in order to invest in internet start-up companies and help its US partners expand into Europe. [04-Apr-2000]

Chase De Vere, the Bath-based independent financial advice business, has put itself up for sale. [03-Apr-2000]

HSBC is to acquire Credit Commercial de France for £6.6bn, in order to create a platform to expand its banking business into continental Europe. [03-Apr-2000]

Winterthur Life is in discussions to acquire the UK life insurance business of Australian financial services group Colonial. [03-Apr-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland is selling Gartmore, its recently-acquired pension fund management business, to Nationwide Mutual Insurance of the US for £1.03bn. [31-Mar-2000]

Centrica is planning to link up with Sharepeople to launch an online sharedealing service under the Goldfish brand later this year. [30-Mar-2000]

Barclays has reached agreement with British Telecom's Syncordia division to replace the internal phone networks that link its branches with a single internet-based communications system. [30-Mar-2000]

HSBC is opening a bank in a Waitrose store in Twyford, Berkshire, and more could follow if the trial is successful. [29-Mar-2000]

Raphael Zorn Hemsley is to sell its asset management and private stockbroking business to Savoy Asset Management for £2.5m, and has also announced plans to change its name to Numis Corporation. [29-Mar-2000]

Wellington Underwriting is in merger talks with Limit, which could lead to the creation of the largest independent Lloyd's insurance group valued at £376m. [29-Mar-2000]

Nationwide is to install 250 terminals at its building society branches to provide internet access and online banking to customers. [28-Mar-2000]

Barclays and Freeserve are forming a £20m joint venture to develop a web portal for small businesses, and Barclays will switch its own-brand internet access service from British Telecom to Freeserve. [28-Mar-2000]

Salomon Smith Barney of the US is to relocate its German equity sales operation from London to Frankfurt, as part of a strategy to move sales people closer to their local markets. [28-Mar-2000]

Merrill Lynch is to set up a private banking office in King Street, Manchester, and further offices will be opened in Leeds and Dublin. [27-Mar-2000]

Robert Fleming, the investment bank, is in talks that could lead to a takeover offer from Chase Manhattan of the US. [23-Mar-2000]

EarthPort.com has raised £25m in a share placing in order to fund the launch of a new e-commerce system that will enable people to shop more securely on the internet using their own bank accounts. [23-Mar-2000]

Prudential is to quit the segregated pensions market by transferring its balanced funds division, which includes a £12bn asset pool, to Deutsche Asset Management for undisclosed terms. [23-Mar-2000]

Halifax is to acquire a controlling stake in St James's Place Capital for £760m, in order to develop a new internet business for the upmarket life assurer. [23-Mar-2000]

Nikko Securities is to wind down its commercial banking unit in London, with the loss of up to 56 jobs. [22-Mar-2000]

Tenon Group has raised £50m to fund the acquisition of small accountancy firms and build up a nationwide business services network. [21-Mar-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland has announced plans to break up its recently-acquired Greenwich NatWest debt markets subsidiary, with the UK operations being integrated into a new financial markets division. [21-Mar-2000]

Auto Direct, the vehicle insurance broker, is to open new offices at Trentham Lakes in Stoke this Easter, with the creation of 170 jobs. [20-Mar-2000]

The Post Office is in discussions with leading High Street banks about the possibility of setting up a new banking network that would be available through its 19,000 branches. [20-Mar-2000]

Barclays is to launch an internet-based procurement service called B2B.com to link buyers with suppliers, in partnership with Oracle and Andersen Consulting. [20-Mar-2000]

Greatminster has sold its Yachtline marine insurance business to management for undisclosed terms. [17-Mar-2000]

Bank of Scotland is forming an alliance with British Telecom to offer online banking and e-business services to small and medium-sized companies. [17-Mar-2000]

Barclays Bank is to close 172 branches on April 7, mostly in villages, suburban areas, and former mining communities. [16-Mar-2000]

The London Stock Exchange is to be transformed into a commercial company, following a vote by members in favour of demutualisation. [16-Mar-2000]

Investec Henderson Crosthwaite is seeking a buyer for Network International, the risk management business, and discussions are taking place with Control Risks, Kroll Associates and Armor. [13-Mar-2000]

Cazenove & Co has acquired a 10.3% stake in Wit Capital Europe, the online investment bank, for £10m, and the two companies aim to co-operate in the flotation of technology stocks. [13-Mar-2000]

Singer & Friedlander is said to be planning to sell its controlling stake in Scandinavian stockbroker Carnegie as well as its UK-based Collins Stewart corporate finance business. [10-Mar-2000]

Countrywide Assured is considering plans to float small stakes in its residential conveyancing, surveying and internet operations. [10-Mar-2000]

Cattles is planning to expand its network of 335 consumer credit branches by opening one a week for three years. [10-Mar-2000]

Pensions Trust is to relocate its national headquarters from London to Leeds later this year, which could create up to 300 jobs over the next ten years. [10-Mar-2000]

Euro Sales Finance is to raise £50m in a rights issue in order to fund the expansion of its invoice discounting business, particularly in France and Germany. [09-Mar-2000]

National Westminster Bank has sold Ulster Bank Investment Services to Northern Trust for £8.2m. [07-Mar-2000]

Charles Schwab of the US is planning to set up a network of about 12 stockbroking branches in the UK, in order to provide account information and give share-dealing demonstrations. [07-Mar-2000]

Schroders is to invest £100m in the launch of a private bank, with headquarters in London. [06-Mar-2000]

Royal & Sun Alliance has announced plans to invest £40m in the creation of an internet venture to sell life and general insurance. [03-Mar-2000]

National Westminster Bank is acquiring a 13% stake in WorldPay, the Cambridge-based supplier of internet credit card payment services, for £23m. [03-Mar-2000]

UBS of Switzerland is to set up a new centre for its global direct financial services business in Edinburgh, with the creation of 400 jobs. [02-Mar-2000]

Sun Life & Provincial has announced plans to set up a new internet site offering insurance, banking and share dealing, and will improve customer choice by also supplying products from competitors. [02-Mar-2000]

Ulster Bank is to close two more of its Belfast branches and staff will be transferred to a new headquarters at Donegall Square East. [02-Mar-2000]

NPI is to shed 400 of the 1,500 jobs at its financial services office in Tunbridge Wells, as part of the restructuring of parent group AMP. [01-Mar-2000]

Legal & General is to invest £30m in its internet operations this year, in order to sell term assurance, household insurance and with-profit bonds. [01-Mar-2000]

Lloyds TSB is to transfer its entire asset management operation to Edinburgh following the acquisition of Scottish Widows, which means that London-based Hill Samuel will lose its separate identity. [01-Mar-2000]

Girovend Cashless Systems is planning to raise £18m in a share placing in order to fund the development of electronic payment systems for the internet. [01-Mar-2000]

Littlewoods is to create up to 120 jobs at its financial services call centre in Sunderland, as part of a joint venture with Woolwich. [29-Feb-2000]

Ernst & Young is planning a £7bn merger of its consultancy arm with Cap Gemini, to create a combined IT consultancy business with 58,000 employees worldwide. [29-Feb-2000]

HSBC is to invest £1.2bn on the development of internet banking services this year, but is not planning to close branches or reduce staff numbers. [29-Feb-2000]

Talisman House is to acquire Farlake Group, the asset management business, for £26m, as part of a strategy to build up a technology and media-focused financial services group. [29-Feb-2000]

Exchange Holdings has acquired Fondex, the Swedish mutual fund trading system, for £22m, as part of a strategy to build up an internet-based financial services business across Europe. [29-Feb-2000]

Airtours is planning to form an internet-based bank in partnership with the Bank of Scotland, which would represent the first major move by a holiday company into mainstream financial services. [28-Feb-2000]

Derbyshire Building Society is planning to close up to 10 of its 61 branches in the next three years, with most staff being relocated to other sites. [28-Feb-2000]

AMP of Australia is planning to cut 1,250 jobs in its Pearl and NPI life and pensions operations in the UK. [25-Feb-2000]

Brewin Dolphin is to create a separate subsidiary for its Stocktrade online dealing division, prompting speculation that it may float the business. [25-Feb-2000]

Jardine Lloyd Thompson, the insurance broker, is planning to invest £10m in the development of its e-commerce strategy over the next three years, and may expand its alternative risk transfer business by linking with a US institution. [25-Feb-2000]

Deutsche Bank is planning to build a £30m office complex for its WM Company investment administration business in Edinburgh, with the creation of 500 jobs. [24-Feb-2000]

Prudential is planning to float up to 25% of its Egg internet bank later this year, giving the business a valuation of about £2.75bn. [24-Feb-2000]

Charles Stanley is linking up with Ecapital to develop a service that will enable its clients to deal in shares through their mobile phones. [24-Feb-2000]

Royal London, the mutual life and pensions group, is set to acquire United Assurance in a £1.6bn deal, creating an enlarged group with premiums of £1bn and more than 3m customers. [23-Feb-2000]

Bristol & West Investments is planning to raise up to £8m in a flotation on Aim, in order to expand its business supplying short-term bridging loans to house buyers. [21-Feb-2000]

CGU and Norwich Union are planning a £18bn merger to create a leading supplier of general insurance, life and pensions, and up to 4,000 job losses are expected to follow. [21-Feb-2000]

PwC is to separate its audit and business advisory business from its other operations, partly due to US regulatory concerns about the independence of its audit work. [18-Feb-2000]

Abbey National is planning to spend £200m on e-commerce over the next year, and has also announced the development of an internet bank called Cahoot. [18-Feb-2000]

ED&F Man is to sell off its commodities trading business to a management team for £587m, and the remaining financial services business will be renamed Man Group. [18-Feb-2000]

Stewart Ivory, the fund manager, is to be acquired by Colonial First State Investments of Australia for £72m, prompting speculation that other smaller Scottish fund managers could also lose their independence. [18-Feb-2000]

Lambert Fenchurch is to create about 100 new jobs in Swindon, in order to centralise its insurance systems and processing functions following the merger with Heath. [18-Feb-2000]

Yorkshire Building Society is to create 200 new jobs over the next six months, due to rising demand for its mortgage and savings products on the internet. [18-Feb-2000]

Marks & Spencer is considering Princes Dock in Liverpool and the Kings Business Park in Knowsley as potential sites for a new base for its financial services operation, which could lead to the creation of 1,000 jobs. [18-Feb-2000]

Aberdeen Asset Management has acquired the fund management arm of the Irish state electricity company ESB for £5.8m. [17-Feb-2000]

Bradford & Bingley is to acquire John Charcoal, the mortgage broker, for £100m, which will give it access to a further 150 independent financial advisers. [17-Feb-2000]

Halifax is forming an alliance with BT Cellnet to develop an internet-based banking service for mobile phones, and is also planning to set up a £150m online insurance business. [17-Feb-2000]

Allied Irish Banks is planning to spend £154m a year on the development of internet-based services. [17-Feb-2000]

Barclays is planning to reduce running costs by £1bn by the end of 2003, which is expected to lead to thousands of job losses in administrative and support staff. [16-Feb-2000]

Alliance & Leicester is investing £15m in an internet bank project, which is expected to become a stand-alone offshoot. [15-Feb-2000]

Peel Hunt, the stockbroking and corporate finance house, is planning to raise up to £15m through a flotation on Aim, in order to expand its marketmaking business. [14-Feb-2000]

Warburg Dillon Read, the investment bank, has created a new team of 40 bankers and 15 researchers to provide internet expertise to its corporate finance specialists working across different industry sectors. [14-Feb-2000]

Lloyds TSB has announced plans for a restructuring programme to increase volumes and reduce costs, and about 3,000 jobs will be lost. [14-Feb-2000]

Barclays is to offer its banking services through local post offices, in a trial scheme in Cornwall. [14-Feb-2000]

Zurich Financial Services is setting up a new customer service centre for its Strategic Partnerships subsidiary in Leeds, with the creation of 200 jobs. [14-Feb-2000]

Chase De Vere is creating 50 new jobs at its independent financial advice business in Bath. [14-Feb-2000]

Cox Insurance has acquired West Midlands-based Argent Insurance Group and the wholesale broker operation Brokersure, for a total £1.4m. [11-Feb-2000]

National Westminster Bank has accepted the takeover bid from the Royal Bank of Scotland, which will lead to the creation of the UK's third largest bank and the loss of up to 14,500 jobs. [11-Feb-2000]

Tradepoint is planning to launch a pan-European stock exchange by the end of the year, having agreed deals with Euroclear and London Clearing House to settle and clear trades. [11-Feb-2000]

Abbey National is planning to launch low-cost flexible home loans, in an attempt to provoke a major shake-up of the mortgage market. [10-Feb-2000]

CE Heath is to close its insurance broking office in Southend later this year with the loss of up to 300 jobs, in order to relocate the business to London, Swindon and South Woodford. [08-Feb-2000]

Britannic Assurance is to restructure its nationwide network of 116 insurance branches with the loss of up to 350 jobs. [04-Feb-2000]

Reuters is forming a joint venture with Equant to create a new internet-based network for the financial services industry, providing telecoms and business-to-business services and employing 600 staff. [04-Feb-2000]

Beeson Gregory, the stockbroker and corporate finance group, is to acquire the technology investment consultancy IndexIT Partnership, and is also planning a flotation to raise £30m. [04-Feb-2000]

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is in negotiations to buy Bank One's UK credit card business. [04-Feb-2000]

Woolwich has announced plans to launch a mobile telephone banking service, using wireless application protocol technology. [03-Feb-2000]

Abbey National has awarded a £3m contract to David McLean to install cash machines at about 250 Shell petrol stations. [03-Feb-2000]

Allied Dunbar is to buy the distribution network of Abbey Life from Lloyds TSB for £100m, creating the largest direct life assurance salesforce in the UK. [02-Feb-2000]

Euro Sales Finance, the invoice discounting group, is forming a joint venture with Banque Worms that will give it access to a further 5,000 potential customers in France. [02-Feb-2000]

Zurich is to close insurance offices in Liverpool, Newcastle, London and Reading, in order to centralise its business in Portsmouth, and some of the 140 staff involved are expected to relocate. [01-Feb-2000]

The Welsh Development Agency has opened a new office in New York, in an attempt to win more US financial and service sector investment in Wales. [01-Feb-2000]

Countrywide Assured is in discussions to acquire Colonial UK, the Australian-owned life insurance and investment business, in order to reduce its dependence on the housing market. [31-Jan-2000]

Aegon UK is to restructure its Scottish Equitable life operation by transferring all group and individual protection businesses to the division over the next few months. [31-Jan-2000]

Shoosmiths Solicitors is to close its Rugby office and transfer the business to Northampton and Birmingham, with the loss of up to 35 jobs. [28-Jan-2000]

Admiral Insurance Services, the Cardiff-based direct motor insurer, is planning to recruit 600 staff over the next three years, taking the total to 1,800. [28-Jan-2000]

Misys is to launch a new service that will enable digital TV viewers to buy insurance, in an expansion of its Screentrade internet trading business. [28-Jan-2000]

Northern Rock is considering plans to offer mortgage-backed bonds to private investors, and is currently investigating the legal implications. [27-Jan-2000]

JP Morgan is looking to recruit 100 people to its European investment banking division this year, taking the total headcount to 425. [27-Jan-2000]

London Scottish Bank is seeking acquisitions to expand its consumer credit and debt collection business. [26-Jan-2000]

Corporation of Lloyd's is to shed 1,100 jobs in its London insurance market in the next two years, by contracting out ancillary services and modernising its structure. [24-Jan-2000]

Lloyds TSB is looking to sell its Abbey Life insurance business for more than £1bn. [24-Jan-2000]

Vodafone AirTouch is forming an alliance with investment bank Warburg Dillon Read, in order to examine opportunities to distribute investment information to Vodafone's mobile phone customers. [22-Jan-2000]

Austin Friars Securities, the corporate finance boutique, has been closed by the Securities & Futures Authority for having insufficient cash. [20-Jan-2000]

Talisman House is acquiring Keith Harris Partnership for undisclosed terms, in a reverse takeover designed to create a new internet-based brokerage service. [20-Jan-2000]

Schroders is selling its investment banking business to Citigroup of the US for £1.35bn, and £200m of the proceeds will be used to establish a private banking business. [19-Jan-2000]

Old Mutual is to acquire Gerrard Group, the financial services company, for £525m, and expects to establish a private banking service using Gerrard's banking licence. [19-Jan-2000]

Old Mutual is in discussions to acquire Gerrard Group, the financial services company, for £540m, and is also interested in the acquisition of a number of asset management companies. [15-Jan-2000]

Bank of Scotland has announced plans to expand its internet-based home loans business into more European countries, and will also introduce deposit accounts. [13-Jan-2000]

Ulster Bank is to launch a new service that enables customers to access their accounts via mobile phones, using Wireless Application Protocol technology. [13-Jan-2000]

Capital One is considering plans to expand its credit card centre in Nottingham, as part of an expansion plan that will create a further 1,000 jobs in its European operations. [12-Jan-2000]

The government is considering plans to privatise National Savings, the retail savings agency that employs 4,000 staff in Glasgow, Blackpool and Durham. [12-Jan-2000]

Royal Bank of Scotland is forming a £70m joint venture with Scottish Power to offer an all-in-one internet service, including utilities, banking, insurance and telephone. [12-Jan-2000]

Halifax has started work on the development of a new £45m call centre in Belfast, and will work with Belfast City Council and external agencies to recruit up to 1,500 staff over the next four years. [11-Jan-2000]

Exchange Holdings has announced a deal with CMG to market its Exweb business information service and Easitrade consumer service to CMG's customers. [11-Jan-2000]

BDO Stoy Hayward, the accountancy firm, is forming an alliance with Oracle in order to provide online expertise to its smaller clients. [11-Jan-2000]

The Post Office is planning to expand the network of cash machines in its retail outlets from 168 to 3,000, and talks are taking place with banks and building societies. [10-Jan-2000]

Grant Thornton has bought the Norwich office of KPMG, and 60 staff will join GT while others will relocate to KPMG's offices in Cambridge and Ipswich. [08-Jan-2000]

Halifax has confirmed plans to launch a stand-alone direct bank in May, with access via the internet, telephone, and digital TV. [06-Jan-2000]

Clifford Chance has completed a three-way merger with Rogers & Wells of the US and Punder, Volhard, Weber & Axster of Germany, to create a combined law firm with 2,700 lawyers worldwide. [05-Jan-2000]

Jellyworks has raised a further £5m in a share placing, and now has about £17m to invest in internet start-up companies. [05-Jan-2000]

Old Mutual of South Africa has sold its UK life insurance business to Century Life for £75m, which will involve the transfer of 150,000 customers. [05-Jan-2000]

Lloyds TSB is planning to launch a pan-European internet bank, starting in Spain and Italy later this year, and a number of acquisitions are expected to support the move. [03-Jan-2000]