U K
The information below comes from the
UK Activity Report.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Willis has bought the Worldwide Intellectual Resources Exchange, which provides database services to brokers and lawyers, for undisclosed terms. 13-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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Standard Life is forming a joint venture with Hannoversche Leben to sell pensions in Germany. 15-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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Countrywide Assured, the estate agency and insurance group, is considering plans to go private with the spin-off of its conveyancing and surveying operations, following a slowdown in the housing market and the decline of endowment mortgages. 24-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
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 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
CGNU is to shed up to 250 jobs through the closure of its loss-making global risk business. 07-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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Royal & Sun Alliance is forming a joint venture with Sundaram Finance to launch non-life insurance products in India. 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
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
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
Winterthur Life is in discussions to acquire the UK life insurance business of Australian financial services group Colonial. 03-Apr-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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The information below comes from the
UK Activity Report.
B U
S I N E S S
P A
R K
home page
Financial Services 2000
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
Click here for further details
Click here for further details
Copyright UK Business Park 1995-2007