Royal & Sun Alliance is looking to raise up to £300m from the sale of its medical insurance division. [30-Dec-2002]
Northern Rock is planning to raise up to £3bn in a bond issue in order to increase its capacity to take on more mortgages. [23-Dec-2002]
Ward Evans Corporate of Leeds has undergone a management buy-out backed by Giles Insurance Brokers, and the two remaining businesses - One Direct Solutions and Ward Evans Financial - are also expected to be sold off. [20-Dec-2002]
Capita is planning to acquire Aurora, the company established to settle the outstanding business of Independent Insurance, for undisclosed terms. [20-Dec-2002]
Numerica has acquired Munro-Greenhalgh, the Manchester-based independent financial adviser, for £1m. [19-Dec-2002]
Gerrard is to close stockbroking offices in Stockton and Huddersfield, in order to create an enlarged regional branch in York. [19-Dec-2002]
Zurich Financial Services has announced plans to shed 750 jobs at offices in Swindon and Cheltenham, with IT and customer services staff being hardest hit. [19-Dec-2002]
Provident Financial has acquired Yes Car Credit, the car finance company with 34,000 low-income customers, from Candover for up to £141m. [19-Dec-2002]
Christie Group has acquired Orridge, the retail stocktaking company, for £0.6m. [18-Dec-2002]
Britannia Building Society is to create 100 new jobs in Staffordshire, following a rise in demand for mortgage products. [18-Dec-2002]
Berkeley Berry Birch has acquired Weston Financial Group, the independent financial adviser with 63 consultants and eight branches, for an initial £1.9m. [17-Dec-2002]
Baker Tilly is to relocate its West Yorkshire accountancy operations and 100 staff to a new 12,000 sq ft office at the Whitehall II development in Leeds city centre in January. [13-Dec-2002]
Man is to expand into private equity by taking control of Westport and acquiring a 25% stake in Parallel Ventures, in a deal worth less than £10m. [12-Dec-2002]
Britannic Asset Management is to shed up to 40 jobs from its 325-strong workforce, affecting Glasgow-based staff in sales, marketing, administration and finance. [11-Dec-2002]
Cox Insurance has rejected a proposal for a £250m management buy-out. [09-Dec-2002]
Prudential is to shed 150 jobs in Reading with the relocation of its Direct to Customers telesales unit to Belfast early next year. [05-Dec-2002]
Royal London is to shed up to 670 jobs in its life assurance business, with sites in Colchester, Edinburgh and Wilmslow being hardest hit. [05-Dec-2002]
NM Rothschild has sold its asset management business to the Insight Investment division of HBOS for £61m. [05-Dec-2002]
Britannic Assurance has acquired the outstanding 40% of Britannic Money from First Active for £56m. [04-Dec-2002]
Hazell Carr is to open a new office in Stirling in January to help insurance firms with their pension reviews, with the creation of 100 jobs. [04-Dec-2002]
AMP is to shed 1,000 sales jobs at its Pearl life assurance subsidiary, with sites in Peterborough and Cambridge being hardest hit, and a further 900 jobs will be lost at its other UK financial services operations. [04-Dec-2002]
Capita Group has acquired Cost Auditing, the London-based provider of legal cost auditing services for the insurance sector, for up to £7.9m. [03-Dec-2002]
Its4me is planning to relocate its online insurance intermediary business to larger offices in Norwich, and aims to double the workforce to 80 over the next year. [02-Dec-2002]
Abbey National is considering plans to sell off non-core operations in order to focus on UK personal financial services, and businesses under review include mortgage activities in France and Italy and life assurance in Dubai and Hong Kong. [02-Dec-2002]
Durlacher has sold its ShareCast online research service to Digital Look, in order to focus on stockbroking. [02-Dec-2002]
National Australia Bank has announced plans to shed 910 jobs in the UK and Ireland by September 2003, with middle managers and back-office staff being hardest hit. [02-Dec-2002]
HBOS is seeking partners to expand its Intelligent Finance online banking business into continental Europe and the US. [02-Dec-2002]
Seymour Pierce, the investment banking and fund management company, is considering plans for a £44m management buy-out. [02-Dec-2002]
HSBC is planning to move out of five locations in the West End of London next year, in order to relocate to new offices in St James's Street. [02-Dec-2002]
Vantis has acquired the non-audit business of London-based Crompton & Sherling for up to £0.6m. [29-Nov-2002]
Benfield, the reinsurance broker with more than 1,600 staff worldwide, is planning to float in London early next year with a valuation of up to £750m. [29-Nov-2002]
Zurich Financial Services is to close its Warranty Management Services office in Prestatyn with the loss of 120 jobs, in order to contract the work out to Home Service GB in Birmingham. [28-Nov-2002]
Aegon UK is to acquire a 60% stake in Positive Solutions, the Newcastle-based financial adviser with 10 business centres, for undisclosed terms. [28-Nov-2002]
Misys, the financial services software company, has announced plans to set up a £6.5m compliance centre in India next year. [27-Nov-2002]
Sky Capital is to acquire Everett Financial, the London-based private client stockbroker, for £1.6m. [26-Nov-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is to sell its Securitas subsidiary in Germany to Baloise of Switzerland for up to £58m. [25-Nov-2002]
Millfield is planning to expand its financial advisory business with the acquisition of Sureline of Hertford and Contemporary Life of London. [22-Nov-2002]
Barclaycard is to transfer 100 administrative jobs from its Thornaby call centre on Teesside to India, which should free up more space for customer services staff. [22-Nov-2002]
Gordons Cranswick is to merge with Sugden Spencer of Bradford, creating a combined Yorkshire-based law firm with more than 200 staff. [20-Nov-2002]
Teather & Greenwood is in talks to sell about half of its asset management business for about £5m. [19-Nov-2002]
HSBC is to acquire Household International, the US consumer finance company, for £8.6bn. [15-Nov-2002]
Cazenove is to shed 90 jobs in its London-based investment banking business. [15-Nov-2002]
Prudential is to sell its German life insurance business to Canada Life for £82m. [15-Nov-2002]
Park Group has acquired Cheshire Securities, the Stockport-based credit services company, for £1.2m, taking its network of branches to 29. [14-Nov-2002]
Skipton Building Society has acquired a majority stake in Private Health Partnership, the Otley-based private health insurance broker, for £3.4m. [14-Nov-2002]
Aviva is to close its Norwich Union pensions processing centre at Romford with the loss of 190 jobs, and the work will be transferred to sites in Norwich and Stevenage. [14-Nov-2002]
Leeds & Holbeck Building Society is setting up a branch in Gibraltar, and further expansion into continental Europe is expected to follow. [14-Nov-2002]
Green Flag is to create more than 300 jobs at a new office at Cavern Court in Liverpool, in order to process technical insurance claims. [13-Nov-2002]
Penna Consulting has acquired Nethouse Trading and its subsidiary The Resourcing Centre for about £0.5m, in order to expand its recruitment outsourcing business. [13-Nov-2002]
Secure Trust Banking is to acquire Old Mutual Securities, the provider of institutional stockbroking and corporate finance services, for up to £12m. [12-Nov-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is considering plans to move out of its Berkeley Square headquarters in London, as part of a strategy to reduce the number of UK offices from 80 to 40. [12-Nov-2002]
Commerzbank of Germany is planning to shed 350 jobs at its investment banking operations in London and Frankfurt. [12-Nov-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance has announced plans to shed a further 900 jobs in the UK, outsource the jobs of the 2,200 staff administering its closed life business and dispose of operations in Australia, New Zealand and the US. [08-Nov-2002]
HSBC is to shed 100 jobs at its investment banking business in London, with equities and corporate finance being hardest hit. [08-Nov-2002]
Collins Stewart is in negotiations to acquire Tullett & Tokyo Liberty, the London-based money broker, for about £230m. [08-Nov-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is to expand its MoreThan insurance call centre in Sunderland, with the creation of 60 jobs before the end of the year. [05-Nov-2002]
Liberata has won a £200m outsourcing contract to handle the administration for the closed life assurance portfolios of Barclays Life and Woolwich. [05-Nov-2002]
Credit Suisse First Boston is said to be planning to shed up to 25% of the 500 staff at its Canary Wharf-based investment banking division. [04-Nov-2002]
Close Brothers is to expand its investment banking operations in the US by forming strategic alliances with Harris Williams and Chanin Capital Partners. [04-Nov-2002]
Standard Life has secured a licence to operate in the Chinese life assurance market, and will form a joint venture in the city of Tianjin. [04-Nov-2002]
Aberdeen Asset Management is planning to raise up to £100m from the flotation of its property arm next year, in order to reduce debt. [04-Nov-2002]
Lehman Brothers of the US is shedding 80 investment banking jobs in Europe, with its London operation being hardest hit. [31-Oct-2002]
Zurich Financial Services is planning to close its Eagle Star insurance call centre in Bournemouth with the loss of about 400 jobs, although some staff will be transferred to Fareham. [30-Oct-2002]
Amvescap is to acquire Whitehall Asset Management, the private wealth manager, from the Industrial Bank of Japan for undisclosed terms. [30-Oct-2002]
Landsbanki Islands, the Icelandic bank, is planning to spend up to £100m on acquisitions in the UK, and is particularly interested in wealth management and invoice discounting. [30-Oct-2002]
Egg is planning to move into the French financial services market with the launch of a new Visa credit card. [30-Oct-2002]
Abbey National is to create 40 new jobs at its banking call centre in Gateshead, in order to improve customer service levels. [29-Oct-2002]
Land Securities Trillium is seeking up to 3m sq ft of space around the country to provide offices and job centres for the Department for Work & Pensions. [28-Oct-2002]
Aviva is considering plans to open a Norwich Union insurance call centre in Sheffield with the creation of up to 700 jobs, as part of an ongoing review of its nationwide property portfolio. [25-Oct-2002]
Amvescap, the fund manager, is to shed a further 500 jobs as part of a £100m cost-cutting programme. [25-Oct-2002]
Hiscox is to acquire Eldon Capital, the fund manager that focuses on investment in the financial sector. [23-Oct-2002]
Citigroup is planning to shed at least 26 of the 260 jobs at its Schroder Salomon Smith Barney research department in London. [23-Oct-2002]
Man Group has acquired GNI, the London-based futures broker with more than 500 staff, from Old Mutual for £100m. [22-Oct-2002]
Aviva is planning to relocate 750 Norwich Union insurance staff to a new multi-million pound call centre in Norfolk, and sites are being considered at Thorpe and Costessey. [18-Oct-2002]
Cattles has acquired the motor finance loan portfolio of Associates Capital for £56m and the Dial4aloan consumer credit business for £15m, funded by a £80m share placing. [18-Oct-2002]
Guinness Peat, the fund management group, has agreed to a reverse takeover by Brunel Holdings, which will involve Brunel demerging its existing engineering operations. [17-Oct-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is to shed 200 jobs at its Strategic Change & IS sites in Horsham, Liverpool, Bristol, Halifax, Manchester, London, Chelmsford and Bournemouth. [16-Oct-2002]
London Forfaiting, the export finance company, has received a number of potential takeover approaches since putting itself up for sale. [14-Oct-2002]
Northern Rock, the mortgage bank, is to spend an additional £40m on the expansion of its offices in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in order to cope with the 200 new staff taken on each year. [14-Oct-2002]
Ryecroft Glenton and Rainbow Gillespie are to merge to form a combined Newcastle-based accountancy practice with 90 staff and 18 partners. [14-Oct-2002]
Dipford Group has acquired Redwoods, the business transfer agency with ten regional offices, in a £1.3m deal, and now plans to develop a national network of agents for the sale and purchase of smaller businesses. [14-Oct-2002]
Hammond Suddards, the law firm, is seeking a suitable site in Birmingham for a 100,000 sq ft office, which could lead to the relocation of 300 staff from its existing site. [14-Oct-2002]
Seymour Pierce is planning to split itself in two, by separating its investment banking and fund management operations. [11-Oct-2002]
James Brearley & Sons is planning to expand its Lancashire-based stockbroking business into Yorkshire with the opening of a new office by the end of the year. [10-Oct-2002]
Wellington Underwriting is to raise £120m in a share placing to finance its new Wellington Re reinsurance business. [10-Oct-2002]
Park Row has sold its Global Risk Management Services division to Fimalac of France for undisclosed terms, in order to focus on its core financial advisory business. [09-Oct-2002]
Tenon has acquired HL Bloom, the Glasgow-based provider of taxation and insolvency services with 20 staff, for £0.6m. [09-Oct-2002]
Cardpoint has acquired ATM Express, the cash machine operator trading as Green Machine, for £1.3m. [03-Oct-2002]
Barclays is to create 500 jobs at its banking call centre in Sunderland this year. [03-Oct-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired Commonwealth Bancorp of Pennsylvania for £290m, in order to expand its US-based Citizens division. [01-Oct-2002]
Canada Life is to close its UK life insurance and pensions salesforce and transfer some staff to independent financial adviser Lighthouse Group. [01-Oct-2002]
Lloyds TSB has announced plans to reorganise its UK service centre business, with the loss of 800 jobs at sites in Chorley, Gateshead, Liverpool, Taunton and Swansea. [30-Sep-2002]
Prudential is planning to transfer 850 life and pension call centre jobs and 100 support jobs from Reading to India. [30-Sep-2002]
Bradford & Bingley is to expand its mortgage book by acquiring about 6,000 home loans with a value of £650m from General Motors Acceptance Corporation. [30-Sep-2002]
Axa Insurance is to recruit 45 additional sales advisers at its office in Darlington. [27-Sep-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is to reorganise its Morethan financial services division and cut its personal insurance lines business from seven centres to four, with the closure of a Birmingham office and the loss of about 150 jobs in Glasgow. [25-Sep-2002]
Brit Insurance is to raise £204m in a share placing to fund the expansion of its business outside Lloyd's of London, including a move into the underwriting of motor insurance. [25-Sep-2002]
Abbey National is looking to sell its First National consumer credit business by the end of the year, for an estimated £800m. [23-Sep-2002]
Laing & Cruickshank is setting up an investment office in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, with staff previously employed by Merrill Lynch. [20-Sep-2002]
CSS Stellar has acquired JR Financial Services of London, in order to establish a new business supplying specialist financial services to high net worth individuals. [19-Sep-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland has won planning permission to build a new headquarters on the 78-acre Gogarburn site in Edinburgh, and its local workforce is expected to rise from 6,800 to more than 8,000. [19-Sep-2002]
Alexander Forbes is to acquire Schroder Pensions Group, the provider of pension administration services, for up to £22m, in partnership with Lane Clark & Peacock. [18-Sep-2002]
Atos KPMG Consulting is planning to shed about 200 of the 1,500 jobs in its management consultancy business. [17-Sep-2002]
Wesleyan is to acquire the financial services business of the British Medical Association, which provides financial advice and insurance to doctors, for undisclosed terms. [17-Sep-2002]
Aviva is to sell its general insurance business in Pakistan to New Jubilee Insurance, while its 63% stake in the Commercial Union Life Assurance Company of Pakistan is being sold to the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. [17-Sep-2002]
Prudential has acquired Good Morning Investment Trust Management of South Korea for £14m. [17-Sep-2002]
MBNA is to create a further 500 jobs at call centres in Chester, Ireland and Spain this year, following the acquisition of the Alliance & Leicester credit card operation. [16-Sep-2002]
Abbey National is said to be planning to shed up to 3,000 of the 28,000 jobs in its banking business, and cost-cutting programmes include the outsourcing of non-core operations and a reduction in backroom staff. [16-Sep-2002]
Newcastle Building Society is to create 40 jobs for financial consultants, having decided to establish its own in-house financial services arm to provide investment advice to customers. [13-Sep-2002]
Insure-Shop has acquired Ilkeston-based Williams Financial Services, taking the number of its branches in the Midlands to 19. [11-Sep-2002]
Hiscox is raising £110m in a rights issue to support the expansion of its insurance business. [11-Sep-2002]
Acxiom is to create more than 60 jobs at its 2Touch call centre in Sunderland, having won a new telesales contract from Stonebridge International Insurance. [10-Sep-2002]
Alchemy Partners is backing plans for a management buy-out of MMS International, the provider of information on fixed income and foreign exchange markets with more than 100 staff, from Standard & Poor's. [10-Sep-2002]
Barclays Private Clients International is to relocate its offshore headquarters to Douglas on the Isle of Man, with the creation of 90 jobs. [09-Sep-2002]
Zurich Financial Services is to sell Gresham, its private equity business with 32 staff, to management for undisclosed terms. [09-Sep-2002]
Teather & Greenwood has shed 35 jobs at its London-based stockbroking business. [09-Sep-2002]
Zurich Financial Services is planning to shed up to 2,000 jobs in the UK, as part of a worldwide restructuring that will involve a total of 4,500 jobs losses and the closure of some banking and fund management operations. [06-Sep-2002]
NM Rothschild has put its UK asset management business up for sale, which will affect 100 staff at offices in Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Japan and Singapore. [04-Sep-2002]
Schroders is planning to shed a further 250 jobs in its investment management business this year, and is close to announcing the sale of its pensions administration division. [04-Sep-2002]
Britannic is to shed 200 direct sales jobs in its life assurance business, in order to focus on telephone selling and independent financial advisers. [04-Sep-2002]
Green Flag is to set up a new motor claims centre in Liverpool this year, with the creation of 70 jobs, and a number of potential sites are being considered. [03-Sep-2002]
Killik is planning to shed 18 jobs in its stockbroking business. [28-Aug-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired Stewart Ivory Wealth Management for undisclosed terms, in order to expand its Adam & Co private banking business. [27-Aug-2002]
Societe Generale of France is considering plans to reduce the size of its London-based investment banking operation, with the loss of hundreds of jobs. [26-Aug-2002]
Countrywide Assured is to acquire a chain of 104 estate agency branches from Friends Provident for £21m, and has also agreed a £275m 15-year deal to sell Friends Provident life policies through its network. [23-Aug-2002]
British Chambers of Commerce is to shed about a third of its 50 London-based staff, in order to cut costs. [22-Aug-2002]
Aegon has acquired Momentum Financial Services, the Hampshire-based firm of independent financial advisers with nine offices, for undisclosed terms. [21-Aug-2002]
BWD Securities has acquired Connaught St Michaels, the Luton-based provider of share registration services, as well as CI Registrars and a 50% stake in Melton Registrars, for up to £4.4m. [20-Aug-2002]
Churchill Insurance is creating 120 new jobs at its insurance call centre in Stockton, including 30 homeworkers. [19-Aug-2002]
Marks & Spencer is considering plans to set up a bank, in order to add deposit accounts to its range of financial services. [19-Aug-2002]
Coutts is planning a £4m expansion of its network of 15 private bank branches outside London, including a new office in Liverpool and 29 new jobs. [19-Aug-2002]
Aegon of the Netherlands has acquired the independent advisory operations of Advisory & Brokerage Services, the London-based firm with 65 staff. [14-Aug-2002]
Numerica has acquired Chantrey Vellacott DFK's Thames Valley business recovery practice, which is based in Marlow, for £1.1m. [13-Aug-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance has announced plans to shed 1,200 jobs and close its life business, in order to focus on general insurance. [09-Aug-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland is seeking further acquisitions in the US, and is thought to be particularly interested in Pennsylvania. [08-Aug-2002]
Smith & Williamson, the accountancy and fund management company, is to merge with stockbroker NCL. [07-Aug-2002]
Morgan Stanley is shedding up to 150 jobs in its global investment banking business, with London and New York being hardest hit. [05-Aug-2002]
Rowan Simmons, the relocation services company, has been acquired by Sirvir of the US for an undisclosed sum thought to be about £7m. [05-Aug-2002]
Hugh James, the law firm, is seeking a suitable site for a new 50,000 sq ft headquarters in Cardiff. [05-Aug-2002]
Mastercard is to acquire the Switch debit card from a consortium of banks, and up to 28m cards will be rebranded under the Maestro name. [01-Aug-2002]
Barclays is planning to shed up to 10% of the 1,000 jobs in its private banking operation, in order to reduce costs. [31-Jul-2002]
Park Group has acquired Cable Cashpoint, the cheque cashing business, and its revolving credit affiliate Cash Reserve, from Dundee-based Robert Cable & Co for £0.7m. [31-Jul-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is to sell its Bristol-based group risk protection business to Canada Life for £60m, which will involve the transfer of about 200 staff. [30-Jul-2002]
Graphite Capital has acquired a 62% stake in PIFC, the pensions advisory firm, for £17m, in order to benefit from the expected rise in demand for pensions advice as more companies look for alternatives to final salary-type pension schemes. [29-Jul-2002]
Alliance & Leicester has sold its credit card business to MBNA of the US for £225m, but will continue to sell cards in an outsourcing arrangement with MBNA. [29-Jul-2002]
Social Security Agency has announced plans to set up a new pension claims centre in Londonderry, with the creation of 190 jobs. [26-Jul-2002]
Prudential has awarded a multi-million pound contract to Jardine Lloyd Thompson for the provision of pension administration services, and 50 Prudential staff will transfer to JLT. [24-Jul-2002]
West Bromwich Building Society is to create 300 jobs over the next five years, due to rising demand for its telephone and internet-based services, and new branches may be opened in towns such as Tamworth, Cannock, Lichfield, Telford and Worcester. [23-Jul-2002]
Scottish Financial Enterprise and 18 leading companies are to launch a new training scheme for the investment administration and custody services sector in Edinburgh, in order to tackle a skills shortage in Scotland. [23-Jul-2002]
Auto Credit Trust is planning to acquire Direct Car Finance, the provider of car loans to people with poor credit ratings, for about £10m. [22-Jul-2002]
Misys is planning to float its independent financial adviser business, which has an estimated value of more than £400m, in order to focus on its banking and healthcare software operations. [19-Jul-2002]
Tellermate, the cash management systems company, is opening a new corporate headquarters for 30 staff at St Mellons in Cardiff this month, and its Newport site will be used as a stand-alone production and research centre for 80 staff. [18-Jul-2002]
Chaucer is planning to raise £39m in a share placing to increase the capacity of its Lloyd's insurance underwriting business. [18-Jul-2002]
Travelex is planning to set up a money transfer service in the US to enable immigrant workers from Latin America to send their wages home. [17-Jul-2002]
Kensington Group is to acquire The Mortgage Lender, the Southampton-based mortgage intermediary with 139 staff, for £15m. [16-Jul-2002]
KPMG has announced plans to shed a further 750 jobs in its UK accountancy operations, and a further 62 jobs will go at its associated law firm KLegal. [16-Jul-2002]
Inter-Alliance is planning to acquire HST, the financial services company, for £5.5m. [15-Jul-2002]
Standard Life is forming a £100m joint venture with Heng-An Life to provide life assurance services in China. [15-Jul-2002]
Abbey National is considering plans to sell its £850m portfolio of private equity investments in the UK, Europe and the US. [15-Jul-2002]
Rathbones, the Liverpool-based fund management company, has acquired five London-based companies for a total £11m - Alphabay, Artcrown, Cedarpower, Meronbrook and Skychart. [11-Jul-2002]
Abbey National, the UK's sixth largest bank, is said to be facing the prospect of a takeover bid from National Australia Bank. [11-Jul-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland is selling 50% of its NatWest Stockbrokers division to TD Waterhouse for about £30m, and the joint venture will then outsource its operations to TDW. [10-Jul-2002]
Aviva is to sell its Spanish general insurance business to Groupama of France for £157m. [09-Jul-2002]
Marsh & McLennan is to set up a 147,000 sq ft headquarters for its Mercer Human Resources subsidiary at the K2 building in London's St Katharine Docks. [08-Jul-2002]
Bank Eurohypo is to set up a 14,000 sq ft headquarters for its mortgage banking business at 90 Long Acre in London. [08-Jul-2002]
Legal & General is to sell Legal & General Bank and Legal & General Mortgage Services to Northern Rock for £131m, as part of a strategy to focus on long-term savings, protection and general insurance. [05-Jul-2002]
Numerica is to acquire the non-audit businesses of Southampton-based accountancy firm Burnett Swayne for £6m, in order to create a southern regional hub for its growing business. [05-Jul-2002]
Zurich Warranty Management Services is creating 30 telemarketing jobs at its office in Prestatyn. [05-Jul-2002]
HBOS is to relaunch its fund management business under the name Insight Investment Management in October, with a budget of £40m for marketing and staff costs. [05-Jul-2002]
BDML Connect is creating 60 additional jobs at its insurance call centre in Portsmouth. [03-Jul-2002]
Ulster Bank has sold Cunningham Coates, the Belfast-based stockbroking firm with 77 staff, to London-based asset management company NCL for undisclosed terms. [03-Jul-2002]
Claims Direct has raised £2.9m from the sale of three non-trading subsidiaries - Rosie One, Towerfocus and Ropespring. [02-Jul-2002]
ARC Risk Management, the provider of security risk management and training to individuals and companies, is being acquired by Perthshire Leisure for £0.5m. [01-Jul-2002]
Deutsche Bank is to shed 320 jobs in the UK, as part of a worldwide cost-cutting exercise that will result in 3,800 job losses in its investment banking and asset management operations over the next 12 months. [28-Jun-2002]
Aegon of the Netherlands is to acquire a 50% stake in Wentworth Rose, the independent financial adviser, for undisclosed terms. [26-Jun-2002]
Millfield has raised £16m in a share placing to help fund the expansion of its network of financial advisers from 380 to 700 by the end of 2003. [26-Jun-2002]
Heath Lambert, the insurance broker, is to raise about £250m in a share issue, and the proceeds will be used for debt reduction and working capital purposes. [24-Jun-2002]
Tilney Investment Management is to sell its back office operations to Bank of New York for undisclosed terms. [21-Jun-2002]
Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank are to merge their IT departments into a new company, and the future of about 60 jobs in Northern Ireland is undecided. [20-Jun-2002]
AMP, the Australian financial services company, has announced plans to shed 1,500 jobs at sites in Peterborough, Cardiff, London, Berkshire and Kent, and its nationwide network of branches will be cut from 57 to 12. [19-Jun-2002]
Durlacher is looking to sell its Sharecast online research service in order to focus on its core stockbroking business. [19-Jun-2002]
CarringtonCarr, the Leicester-based independent financial adviser with 270 staff, has been acquired by AWD of Germany for £32m. [19-Jun-2002]
Prudential is to acquire ING's life insurance business in the Philippines, which includes 17 offices and 100 staff. [19-Jun-2002]
Gartmore has acquired Riverview International, the US fund manager, for undisclosed terms. [18-Jun-2002]
Friends Provident is considering plans to raise up to £800m in the bond market to fund acquisitions for its life insurance business. [17-Jun-2002]
Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, the US financial restructuring specialist, is opening its first office in London to co-ordinate its expansion into Europe, and the initial staff of 12 will be increased. [17-Jun-2002]
Abbey National is expanding its Inscape wealth management service into the offshore market by opening an advice centre in Jersey, and additional centres are likely to follow in Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Hong Kong. [17-Jun-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired Medford Bancorp of the US for £187m, gaining 19 branches in Massachusetts. [14-Jun-2002]
CGNU is to create 425 jobs at insurance claims centres in Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Manchester, Preston, Bradford, Dundee, Southend, Newcastle, Liverpool and Ipswich, but 750 jobs will be lost through the closure of 11 other sites. [13-Jun-2002]
Charles Stanley is looking to spend up to £10m on acquisitions to expand its investment banking business. [13-Jun-2002]
Collins Stewart is to advise PRI Group, the newly-formed professional liability insurer, on plans to raise £130m in a flotation on Aim. [13-Jun-2002]
London Scottish Bank is seeking acquisitions to expand its consumer credit and factoring operations. [12-Jun-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is to sell its Isle of Man-based life assurance operations to Friends Provident for £133m, as part of a strategy to focus on general insurance. [12-Jun-2002]
PwC is expected to reorganise its London property portfolio this summer, which will affect up to 3,000 jobs and involve consulting staff at One Embankment Place changing places will those at One London Bridge. [10-Jun-2002]
Vantis, the accountancy and professional advisory group, has acquired the non-audit business of Darlington-based Gregory Mitford & Snowball for an initial £0.2m. [07-Jun-2002]
Fiske has acquired Ionian Group, the investment management company, for £1.6m. [07-Jun-2002]
HLF Group, the insurance broker with 117 offices in 47 countries, is planning to raise up to £300m in a flotation, in order to reduce debt and buy out its venture capital investors. [07-Jun-2002]
Xansa has announced a £250m deal to handle accounting and financial services for BT, which will involve the transfer of about 570 staff at sites in Bedford, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and London. [06-Jun-2002]
UBS Warburg is planning to shed about 200 jobs in London, including 100 in its investment banking, equities and foreign exchange operations. [06-Jun-2002]
Marks & Spencer is undertaking a strategic review of its financial services division, which could lead to joint ventures, outsourcing or a partial flotation. [03-Jun-2002]
Qdos Consulting, the provider of advice on employment and taxation issues to accountancy and legal firms, is to create a further 20 jobs at its new head office and call centre in Leicester over the next 12 months. [03-Jun-2002]
Evolution has agreed to merge with Beeson Gregory in a £92m reverse takeover, creating one of the largest independent retail stockbroking groups. [31-May-2002]
Provident Financial has sold its Colonade Insurance Brokers subsidiary, which includes 88 high street outlets, to Swinton Group for £27m. [31-May-2002]
Clifford Chance is setting up its first law practice on the West Coast of the US, with up to 150 staff operating from two main offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco. [31-May-2002]
IFG Group has acquired Trade Credit Brokers, the Irish independent credit insurance brokerage, for an initial £1m. [30-May-2002]
Wellington Underwriting has announced plans to set up a £448m London-based reinsurance business called Wellington Re, which will focus mainly on casualty and property. [30-May-2002]
Lex Service is forming a joint venture with Axa Insurance to offer insurance and other financial services under the name of RAC Financial Services. [29-May-2002]
Svenska Handelsbanken of Sweden is looking to expand its UK banking business by acquiring a building society. [28-May-2002]
Cardpoint is to raise £2.5m in a flotation on Aim to fund the installation of 250 more cash machines. [27-May-2002]
WestLB Panmure is considering plans to shed about 100 jobs at its London-based securities business, as part of a cost-cutting programme by German parent Westdeutsche Landesbank. [24-May-2002]
Man Group is planning to acquire RMF, the Swiss hedge fund manager, for £570m. [24-May-2002]
Claims Direct has raised £1.6m from the sale of Sailpool, a non-trading subsidiary. [23-May-2002]
Schroders is to shed 19 jobs in its private banking business, as part of a cost-cutting exercise. [22-May-2002]
Bradford & Bingley is planning to raise about £30m from the sale and leaseback of a large part of its property portfolio, making it easier to move branches to better locations. [21-May-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group is to sell its life and general Benelux subsidiaries to Achmea of the Netherlands for £77m. [20-May-2002]
AMP of Australia has sold Cogent, the London-based provider of back office services to investment managers with 1,000 staff, for up to £227m. [20-May-2002]
Groupama of France is to close eight regional insurance offices with the loss of up to 130 jobs, as part of a restructuring of its UK operations that will focus the group on commercial insurance for small businesses. [17-May-2002]
Bank of Ireland has acquired Iridian, the US investment manager, for £121m, which will double the size of its asset management business. [17-May-2002]
South Staffordshire Group has acquired Regency Financial Holdings of Weston-super-Mare, the provider of retail warranty services with 222 staff, for up to £45m. [16-May-2002]
Scottish Provident is to close its office in Kendal later this year, with the loss of 210 jobs, in order to relocate the pensions business to existing sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh. [15-May-2002]
Clark Scott Harden has acquired Harmer Mortimer, the North Yorkshire estate agency with offices in Northallerton and Thirsk. [15-May-2002]
Axa Insurance is to shed 700 jobs over the next year, including 320 in Colchester, 230 in Cardiff and 85 in Bolton, but has also announced plans to invest £100m in its general insurance business over the next three years, including £40m in IT systems. [15-May-2002]
EBRD, the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development, is considering plans to relocate its 862 staff to a new headquarters in London. [15-May-2002]
Gregory Pennington, the Sale-based debt management firm with 250 staff, has been sold to management for undisclosed terms. [13-May-2002]
Norwich Union Direct is to close its call centre on the Moulton Park industrial estate in Northampton this summer, with the loss of 120 jobs. [10-May-2002]
Esure is planning to expand its internet and telephone-based insurance business in Scotland with the creation of 700 jobs over the next five years, having just opened a new office for 200 staff in Glasgow. [10-May-2002]
Brewin Dolphin has acquired Popes, the Stoke-based stockbroker with 52 staff, for up to £8.6m. [08-May-2002]
Lehman Brothers of the US is to shed 60 jobs in its European investment banking operations, with London being hardest hit. [06-May-2002]
Cazenove is to relocate its London head office from Tokenhouse Yard to Moorgate, in order to combine its 850 banking and investment management staff onto one site. [06-May-2002]
Management Consulting Group is to acquire Parson Group, the US provider of financial management consultancy services with 13 offices, for £38m. [03-May-2002]
Viridian has sold its Open & Direct financial services business to Alchemy Partners for £111m. [02-May-2002]
Wilson Organisation has acquired O'Dell Walton & Partners, the Nottingham-based insurance company, for undisclosed terms, and will relocate the 10 staff to its Waverley Street office. [01-May-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance has sold its investment division to Friends Ivory & Sime for £240m, which will involve the transfer of 300 staff. [01-May-2002]
Bridgewell is to relocate its equities division to new premises in London's Queen Victoria Street and rebrand the business as Bridgewell Securities. [01-May-2002]
Giles Insurance is planning to set up a call centre at the former Fulton & Wyllie factory in Irvine, with the creation of up to 200 jobs. [30-Apr-2002]
Charles Stanley is to acquire Robson Cotterell, the Bournemouth-based stockbroker, for up to £9.5m. [29-Apr-2002]
Coyle Hamilton, the Irish insurance company, is planning to double the size of its Belfast office, which currently has 13 staff, over the next three years. [29-Apr-2002]
Lloyd's of London is in talks with the Chinese government about plans to expand its insurance business in China. [29-Apr-2002]
The London Stock Exchange is in renewed talks about a merger, and possible partners include Nasdaq, OM Group, the Australian Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. [26-Apr-2002]
AMP Pearl is to relocate its customer service and IT operations from Cardiff to sites in Peterborough and Tunbridge Wells, which will affect about 300 staff. [26-Apr-2002]
Stroud & Swindon Building Society is to close branches in Swindon, London, Berkeley and Yeovil with the loss of up to 50 jobs. [25-Apr-2002]
Kiln, the Lloyd's insurance underwriter, is planning to raise £48m in a share placing. [23-Apr-2002]
Lazard, the investment bank, is said to be planning to set up a new 130,000 sq ft European headquarters at Mayfair Place in London. [22-Apr-2002]
Evolution Group is seeking acquisitions to expand its investment banking and asset management business over the next three months. [22-Apr-2002]
Barclays is planning to sell Woolwich's commercial mortgage book for about £900m, and talks are taking place with General Electric and Citigroup. [19-Apr-2002]
Co-operative Group is to combine its insurance and banking operations into a new financial services division, in order to cross-sell more services to customers. [19-Apr-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is looking to sell off its Tyndall life insurance and fund management business in Australia and New Zealand. [18-Apr-2002]
Andersen is planning to shed up to 1,500 jobs in its UK accountancy business, with the London head office being hit hardest. [17-Apr-2002]
Scarborough Building Society is planning to relocate its 300 head office staff to a new 51,000 sq ft site at the Gateway Business Park in Scarborough in September. [17-Apr-2002]
TTT Foreign Exchange has won a contract to increase its bureau de change business at Gatwick airport from five to 10 outlets. [17-Apr-2002]
Birchin International is to acquire Park Row financial advisers in a £13m reverse takeover, and the new group will raise £3m in a share placing. [15-Apr-2002]
Cox Insurance has announced plans to raise £70m in a share placing to fund the restructuring of its business. [15-Apr-2002]
Capita Group has acquired City Financial Group, the provider of unit trust administration services, for up to £4.6m. [15-Apr-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland is to set up a new customer service centre at Horwich near Bolton for the Virgin One all-in-one mortgage account, with the creation of 300 jobs, while 150 jobs will be created at its existing site in Norwich. [12-Apr-2002]
Centrica has confirmed plans to set up a call centre for the Goldfish credit card at Atlantic Quay in Glasgow by July, with the creation of 200 jobs. [12-Apr-2002]
Lloyds TSB has closed its Create wealth management business, having failed to gain sufficient customers in its first six months of operation. [12-Apr-2002]
Deloitte & Touche has reached agreement to acquire the UK arm of Andersen, which will involve the transfer of 383 partners and 5,000 staff. [11-Apr-2002]
IFG Group is to expand its financial services business through the acquisition of IPS Pensions, the Bristol-based provider of actuarial and pension services, for up to £15m. [11-Apr-2002]
Capcon Holdings has acquired Vincent Sherman, the insurance fraud investigation business with 43 staff, for up to £0.5m. [10-Apr-2002]
National Australia Bank is said to be planning to shed 500 back-office jobs at its four UK banks - Clydesdale, Yorkshire, National Irish Bank and Northern Bank - but 300 new customer service jobs will be created. [10-Apr-2002]
Citigroup is planning to close its Future Mortgages operation in Reading over the next six months with the loss of up to 75 jobs, in order to transfer the business to Sunderland. [05-Apr-2002]
Travelex is to announce a five-year deal to manage the retail currency operations of Rabobank of the Netherlands, and is now looking to secure similar deals with other European banks. [03-Apr-2002]
The Association for Payment Clearing Services has selected Northampton to host the UK's first major trial of smartcards, in an attempt to cut credit card fraud in shops. [02-Apr-2002]
Proquote, the Cheshire-based internet-broking information service, is planning to raise £5m in a flotation. [02-Apr-2002]
Berwin Leighton Paisner, the law firm, is to set up a new 88,000 sq ft headquarters at Lower Thames Street in London. [02-Apr-2002]
DTLR, the government department for transport, local government and the regions, is planning to rationalise its network of 1,300 offices and relocate many staff into larger regional hubs over the next 10 years. [02-Apr-2002]
Positive Solutions is planning to create more than 200 jobs in its nationwide network of 455 financial advisers over the next year. [29-Mar-2002]
Affinitas is planning to raise £1.5m in a share placing to fund the opening of invoice discounting offices in Manchester and Bristol. [26-Mar-2002]
Abbey National is planning to open banking outlets in about 20 Homebase DIY stores, with the first test branch opening in Liverpool this week. [25-Mar-2002]
Bank of Ireland is planning to set up a factoring and invoice discounting business in the UK and Germany called Enterprise Finance Europe, which will involve opening new offices in Manchester, London and Frankfurt. [22-Mar-2002]
Cox Insurance has announced plans to restructure its insurance business, which will involve the loss of 50 jobs and the discontinuation of property and reinsurance underwriting. [22-Mar-2002]
Royal London is planning to shed 350 jobs in its life and pensions salesforce, as the provision of traditional doorstep financial advice is no longer seen as cost-effective. [21-Mar-2002]
GUS is to acquire ConsumerInfo.com, the US supplier of online credit reports, from Homestore.com for £86m, in order to expand its Experian North America business. [20-Mar-2002]
Cornhill is to create 22 jobs at its newly-opened insurance claims centre in Aztec West, Bristol, this year. [20-Mar-2002]
Scottish Equity Partners, the Glasgow-based venture capital company, is opening a new office in the City of London, in order to increase the number of deals in England. [19-Mar-2002]
Collins Stewart is planning to expand its Quest online stock-picking operation to incorporate US and Asian stocks, as part of the ongoing diversification of its financial services business. [19-Mar-2002]
Lighthouse Group is to acquire BWA, the Exeter-based network of almost 200 independent financial advisers, in a £2.1m deal. [18-Mar-2002]
GE Capital Woodchester is planning to relocate its car finance business and up to 300 jobs from Edinburgh to Leeds. [18-Mar-2002]
Centrica has won a banking licence for its new Goldfish joint venture with Lloyds TSB, and a Glasgow-based call centre with 200 staff will deal with the customers. [18-Mar-2002]
Axa is planning to reduce costs in its UK insurance business by £122m this year, which is expected to involve job losses and cuts in IT and consulting. [18-Mar-2002]
Budget Financial Services is to close its Redditch call centre with the loss of up to 86 jobs, but its main site in Peterborough will be expanded. [15-Mar-2002]
Numerica has acquired Practice Track, the Bristol-based supplier of marketing services to accountancy firms, for £1m. [14-Mar-2002]
Morgan Cole, the law firm, is to set up a new 24,000 sq ft office at the Port Tawe development in Swansea, which will involve the relocation of 70 jobs and the creation of 50 jobs by 2005. [14-Mar-2002]
The Welsh Development Agency is to relocate 200 staff to a new 35,000 sq ft headquarters at Castle Gate in Cardiff next month. [14-Mar-2002]
CGNU is to sell its French general insurance commercial lines operation to Groupama for an undisclosed sum thought to be about £120m. [14-Mar-2002]
Churchill Insurance is planning to create up to 200 jobs at its Thornaby call centre on Teesside. [13-Mar-2002]
Millfield has acquired Moncur Jackson & Associates, the Newcastle upon Tyne-based employee benefits business, for up to £2.2m. [12-Mar-2002]
Beeson Gregory is in discussions to acquire Old Mutual Securities, the London-based stockbroking business, for more than £20m. [11-Mar-2002]
HSBC is to shed about 40 banking jobs in the Isle of Man, in order to transfer back office work to India. [08-Mar-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland has announced plans to build a new headquarters for up to 3,000 staff at the former Gogarburn hospital site in Edinburgh. [08-Mar-2002]
Inter-Alliance is to raise £17m in a share placing to expand the infrastructure and support functions of its financial services business. [08-Mar-2002]
Royal & Sun Alliance is to close its French general insurance operation to new business with the loss of 100 jobs over the next few years. [07-Mar-2002]
Friends Provident is looking to spend up to £1bn on acquisitions to expand its fund management business. [07-Mar-2002]
Numerica is to acquire the non-audit business of Leicester-based Pole Arnold in a £4.2m deal. [07-Mar-2002]
The Inland Revenue has announced plans to create about 300 jobs at a new call centre in Dudley in September, and has confirmed plans to open other centres in Dundee, Livingston and Peterlee. [06-Mar-2002]
Coutts Consulting is to be acquired by Right Management Consultants, the US recruitment firm, for £74m. [06-Mar-2002]
Watson Farley & Williams is in merger discussions with Simmons & Simmons to create a combined law firm with 1,000 lawyers. [06-Mar-2002]
Britannic is seeking a merger partner to increase its share of the UK insurance market. [06-Mar-2002]
Retail Decisions has acquired Paymentplus, the US supplier of payment card fraud prevention services, for £1.6m. [04-Mar-2002]
The National Assembly for Wales has pledged to relocate 400 jobs from Cardiff to other parts of Wales over the next five years, in order to decentralise its offices. [04-Mar-2002]
Scottish Equitable is considering plans to set up a new London head office at the 60,000 sq ft GTS House on Shaftesbury Avenue, in order to consolidate five existing offices. [04-Mar-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland is seeking further acquisitions, and is particularly interested in expanding its US banking operations. [01-Mar-2002]
HBOS has announced a £1.1bn share placing to continue the expansion of its retail and life assurance operations. [28-Feb-2002]
CGNU is planning to change its name to Aviva to reflect the international nature of its life assurance business. [28-Feb-2002]
Provident Financial has closed its South African credit and insurance operations in order to focus on the expansion of its central European business. [28-Feb-2002]
TD Waterhouse is about to open new retail stockbroking branches in London and the North. [27-Feb-2002]
Abbey National is to acquire a £133m commercial mortgage book from Portman Building Society, as part of a strategy to increase its share of the small business banking market. [27-Feb-2002]
Securicor has won a £200m outsourcing contract from Alliance & Leicester, which will involve taking over the management of A&L's cash processing centre in Basingstoke. [25-Feb-2002]
HBOS is to set up a new administration complex in Fife for its Intelligent Finance internet and telephone banking business, with the creation of 800 jobs. [22-Feb-2002]
The Inland Revenue is planning to create 300 jobs at a new call centre in Livingston in August. [22-Feb-2002]
The AA is to create 120 new jobs at its call centre in Newcastle upon Tyne to deal with customers for its new credit card. [21-Feb-2002]
Ofex, the small companies share trading market, is planning to open a chain of regional offices this year, including its first move into Scotland. [21-Feb-2002]
Bacs is planning to invest £75m modernising its technology over the next five years, due to rising demand for automated payment clearing services. [21-Feb-2002]
CGNU is to acquire Dao Heng Assurance and DBS Kwong On Insurance from DBS Group for £31m, in order to expand its insurance operations in Hong Kong. [19-Feb-2002]
HSBC is planning to combine its corporate lending and investment banking operations in order to allow more cross-selling of services. [19-Feb-2002]
Lloyds TSB has announced plans to shed a further 3,000 staff this year as processing continues to be taken away from branches, but 2,000 jobs will be created to improve customer service levels. [18-Feb-2002]
Johnston Carmichael has acquired the Aberdeen accountancy practice of HLB Kidsons for undisclosed terms. [15-Feb-2002]
The British Bankers Association is considering plans to merge with the Association of British Insurers to create a single association for the financial services industry. [14-Feb-2002]
Hugh James Ford Simey is to demerge the two law practices that were combined in 1999, with the Hugh James operation taking control of the eight offices in South Wales and Ford Simey focusing on the West of England. [13-Feb-2002]
Cobbetts, the Manchester law firm, is to merge with Read Hind Stewart of Leeds in May, creating a combined group with 67 partners. [13-Feb-2002]
Schroders is to restructure its UK fund management business with the loss of about 30 jobs, and a few of its 39 overseas offices will be sold or closed. [13-Feb-2002]
Cendant is creating 50 new jobs at its Swindon-based relocation and training business, with vacancies for operations managers, relocation advisers and training consultants. [11-Feb-2002]
Prudential is said to be planning to set up a new 38,000 sq ft divisional office at the PaddingtonCentral development in London. [11-Feb-2002]
Affinitas has acquired the Armed Forces Financial Advisory Service from insurance broker Willis, and is now seeking similar acquisitions. [08-Feb-2002]
Smart & Cook has acquired Lanarkshire-based Lewis Wotherspoon in order to expand its Scottish insurance brokerage. [08-Feb-2002]
London Scottish Bank has acquired Sterling Direct Finance, the Southend-based secured lending broker, for an initial £5.8m. [08-Feb-2002]
Hercules Property Services has acquired DOR Northern, the Macclesfield-based housing association property insurance broker, for up to £4m. [08-Feb-2002]
Tenon is to build a new £2m 20,000 sq ft office for its accountancy business in Washington, Tyne & Wear, and staff will relocate from the existing site in Sunderland later this year. [08-Feb-2002]
Deutsche Bank has announced proposals to build a 38-storey office block in Islington on the edge of the City of London, as a commercial development by its Deutsche Grundbesitz property division. [08-Feb-2002]
The Welsh Development Agency is to seek tenders from both the private and public sectors to take over the running of the Business Connect business advice service in Wales. [06-Feb-2002]
Carlisle City Council has approved plans from Capita dbs to build a £6m headquarters for its business services operation at Kingmoor Park, where it will employ 500 staff. [06-Feb-2002]
The Child Support Agency is to set up a new data processing facility at Cumnock in Ayrshire with the creation of 170 jobs. [05-Feb-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland is said to be seeking 100,000 sq ft of office space in both Leeds and Bristol, as part of a nationwide strategy to consolidate smaller sites into regional headquarters. [04-Feb-2002]
Bank of Ireland is to set up a new £6m flagship branch with 60 staff at the Middleton Building in Belfast city centre in June, and three existing branches will close. [01-Feb-2002]
MBNA is planning to set up a new credit card sales and administration office at the Chester Business Park this summer, with the creation of up to 500 jobs. [01-Feb-2002]
Alexander Forbes is to acquire a 60% stake in Lane Clark & Peacock for £28m, in order to expand its consulting actuarial business in the UK. [31-Jan-2002]
Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired the Italian direct motor insurance division of Royal & Sun Alliance for £12m, as part of a strategy to expand its Direct Line business into continental Europe. [30-Jan-2002]
Egg is to acquire Zebank, the French online financial business, for £23m, and will invest a further £100m on its expansion into continental Europe over the next three years. [29-Jan-2002]
Kingfisher is to sell Time Retail Finance, its Leeds-based financial services operation, to GE Capital for £149m, as part of a strategy to focus on DIY and electrical retailing. [29-Jan-2002]
Rowe & Maw, the corporate law firm, has agreed terms for a merger with Mayer Brown & Platt of the US, creating a combined group called Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw with revenues of £480m. [29-Jan-2002]
Abbey National is looking into the possibility of launching a national chain of solicitors if the Law Society votes to deregulate the market in March, while Tesco and Sainsbury are also keen to offer legal services in their stores. [28-Jan-2002]
Claims Direct is to acquire Claimline, the personal injury claims specialist, for £1.5m, and has also announced plans to communicate with more customers by post rather than employing claims managers. [25-Jan-2002]
Endsleigh Insurance Services, the operator of 129 insurance shops, is planning a management buy-out from Dutch-based Goudse for undisclosed terms. [24-Jan-2002]
HSBC is planning to close a banking administration centre at Landport in Portsmouth with the loss of 150 jobs. [23-Jan-2002]
Morgan Stanley is planning to create up to 450 jobs in Glasgow over the next three years, and will set up a new credit card operation at the Cerium Building in Cadogan Square later this year. [23-Jan-2002]
HBOS is to close 60 of its 384 branches in Scotland over the next three years, and the Halifax brand will no longer be used on Scottish high streets. [18-Jan-2002]
Bank of Ireland is reorganising its business into five units, including a new UK division comprising Bristol & West, retail operations and a financial advice business. [17-Jan-2002]
Zurich Financial Services has invested £90m in the launch of a new internet bank, and the Cheltenham-based operation hopes to attract 300,000 customers over the next five years. [17-Jan-2002]
Standard Chartered is to sell its Geneva-based private banking operation to Prudential Financial of the US. [17-Jan-2002]
IRevolution has sold Fund Management Services, the provider of software and services to the fund management sector, to Linedata Services for £0.7m. [15-Jan-2002]
Peninsula Business Services is planning to invest £1.5m in the expansion of its Manchester-based employment law advice business over the next year, with the creation of 70 jobs. [14-Jan-2002]
Green Flag is planning to create up to 100 jobs at its insurance call centre in Doncaster, while a further 300 jobs are being created in Leeds and Pudsey. [14-Jan-2002]
Ibex Interiors has won a £4.3m contract to fit out a new central London headquarters for US legal firm Sullivan & Cromwell. [14-Jan-2002]
Hastings Direct is to create up to 150 new jobs at its insurance call centre in Bexhill. [10-Jan-2002]
Credit Suisse First Boston has agreed to sublet 260,000 sq ft of office space at an unfinished building in Canary Wharf, London, to Bank of America. [10-Jan-2002]
Churchill Insurance is to create 200 new jobs in Ipswich, in order to expand its claims, sales and customer service departments. [09-Jan-2002]
Abbey National is to invest £25m a year in improvements to its current account services, with the creation of 500 new jobs in Sheffield, Bradford and Manchester. [09-Jan-2002]
Baker Tilly is planning to merge with HLB Kidsons to create a combined accountancy firm with about 300 partners and 2,000 staff. [07-Jan-2002]
Zurich Financial Services is planning to shed about 180 of its 450 UK-based IT staff by April, which will affect offices in Portsmouth. [02-Jan-2002]
Apax Partners is to acquire Azimut, the fund management business of Italian bank Bipop-Carire for £230m. [02-Jan-2002]
Brainspark, the internet investment company, has accepted a £5.2m takeover offer from Italian software company AI Software. [02-Jan-2002]