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Financial Services 1997
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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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HSBC has acquired a 19.9% stake in Grupo Financiero Serfin, the Mexican bank, for £105m, which is a 42% lower price than when the deal was originally negotiated earlier this year. 31-Dec-1997 Sedgwick is acquiring Dextra, the Norwegian insurance broker, and Dannenburg, the Dutch pensions consultancy. 31-Dec-1997 Willis Corroon has acquired a 33% stake in Gras Savoye, the French insurance broker, for about £45m, in order to complement its existing European network and win more multinational accounts. 31-Dec-1997 Willis Corroon is forming a joint venture with Tower Insurance & Reinsurance Services to set up an insurance broking operation in India. 30-Dec-1997 Inter-Alliance, the independent financial adviser, is planning to list on Aim in early 1998 in order to raise £5m for expansion. 29-Dec-1997 Fidelity Investments is launching a new service that will enable UK investors to deal in unit trusts and personal equity plans via the internet and without the need for signatures. 22-Dec-1997 Barclays is to outsource the running of its £1bn UK property portfolio, thereby abandoning its own attempts to run a property management business. 22-Dec-1997 Bank Leumi of Israel has acquired a 25% stake in Shore Capital, the stockbroking and corporate finance group, for £2.5m. 22-Dec-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland is acquiring Angel Train Contracts, the rail leasing company, for £395m, which will enable it to offer financial services to European transport groups. 18-Dec-1997 Standard Life is moving into the retail banking sector with a direct access savings account and hopes to get 100,000 customers in the first year. 18-Dec-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland is selling its share registrars business to Computershare, the Australian software and registration company, and will increase its stake in Computershare from 9% to 20%. 16-Dec-1997 Lloyds TSB is planning a pilot internet electronic commerce scheme that will use Card Clear's technology for digital certificates to improve security. 16-Dec-1997 Direct Line, part of Royal Bank of Scotland, is planning to sell personal pensions by telephone from next year in a joint venture with Scottish Widows. 12-Dec-1997 Albert E Sharp, the stockbroker, is to outsource its back-office operation to Pershing, enabling it to cut 120 jobs at its Birmingham head office. 12-Dec-1997 Bank of Scotland is planning to sell its corporate trustee services business to State Street Bank & Trust. 11-Dec-1997 Fidelity Brokerage Services is to close down its institutional broking division in order to focus on its core business of active retail service. 10-Dec-1997 Card Clear is launching an expanded electronic "hot card file" which will enable retailers to more reliably check if a credit card is stolen, having agreed a contract with the Association for Payment Clearing Services. 08-Dec-1997 Lloyds TSB has said it would launch a counter-bid for either NatWest or Barclays if the two banks are allowed to merge. 06-Dec-1997 Capital One, the US credit card group, is planning to set up a £30m European operations centre in Nottingham, creating up to 900 jobs. 06-Dec-1997 National Westminster Bank is planning to split off its European corporate advisory business into a separate company with a new name, although details have not yet been decided. 05-Dec-1997 Britannia Building Society is to stop selling through independent financial advisers at its Britannia Life subsidiary, and will cut 160 jobs in its sales network and 340 jobs at its Glasgow head office. 05-Dec-1997 Hambros Bank is in preliminary discussions with Generale Bank of Belgium over the possible sale of some of its corporate lending operations. 04-Dec-1997 Halifax is to relocate its treasury business from Yorkshire to London next year, and will be looking to recruit a further 100 staff. 04-Dec-1997 Centrica is linking up with Privilege, the special risks insurer, to offer household insurance to customers and claims it will be able to reduce bills by an average £75. 02-Dec-1997 Provident Financial has won approval to set up a lending business in the Czech Republic, and may then move into Hungary. 01-Dec-1997 Barclays has closed its Japanese equities business having failed to agree a sale. 29-Nov-1997 National Westminster Bank is to test-launch a 24-hour automated telephone banking service in north London over the next few months. 27-Nov-1997 Anglo Irish Bank is planning to increase its customer base in the UK and Ireland through both organic growth and acquisitions, and also aims to broaden its range of treasury services. 26-Nov-1997 Royal & Sun Alliance is to invest £24m in its Argentine business in order to increase its market share in personal, commercial and maritime insurance. 24-Nov-1997 Lambert Fenchurch, the insurance broker, is to buy Kooper Group, the New York-based employee benefits consultancy, for up to £20m. 21-Nov-1997 Coutts has agreed a deal with Bank Leumi of Israel to provide wealth management services to Leumi's customers. 20-Nov-1997 Nationwide is offering to refund all conveyancing and search fees to homebuyers that switch from other lenders to its cheaper mortgage rates, raising the prospect of a mortgage price war. 19-Nov-1997 The Co-operative Bank is to start offering basic banking services through about 15,500 post offices, in a link-up with Post Office Counters. 19-Nov-1997 Charles Schwab has launched TouchTone Trader, which will allow investors to buy and sell shares using an automated telephone answering service. 18-Nov-1997 Abbey National, the bank, is considering plans for an enhanced dividend strategy and a share buy-back in order to prevent unwanted takeover approaches. 17-Nov-1997 Edward Jones, the US retail stockbroker, is planning to open 400 offices in the UK over the next seven years. 14-Nov-1997 Building societies have won further protection from speculators that force them to lose their mutuality, following a government decision to increase the turnout required for a conversion vote from 20% to 50% of members. 14-Nov-1997 Bank of Ireland is looking to acquire another building society "which would fit with our marketing spend, lend itself to increased penetration and lend itself to rationalisation of the branches and the back office". 14-Nov-1997 Hill Samuel Asset Management is to combine its UK and European equity desks. 14-Nov-1997 National Westminster Bank is discussing the sale of its NatWest Markets investment banking division with both Bankers Trust and Deutsche Morgan Grenfell. 13-Nov-1997 Royal & Sun Alliance is acquiring a 40% stake in La Construccion, the third largest life assurer in Chile, for £75m. 13-Nov-1997 Eagle Star Life is to stop selling its products through a direct salesforce, and will instead use telephone selling and independent financial advisers. 13-Nov-1997 NatWest has rejected an informal merger approach from Barclays, a move which would have created the second largest banking group in the UK. 13-Nov-1997 Intrum Justitia, the debt collection agency, may return to private hands as it is in discussions with an unidentified company which could lead to an offer being made. 11-Nov-1997 Life Assurance Holdings is bidding to acquire the UK life assurance business of the French insurance company Gan, but is facing competition from about six other bidders. 08-Nov-1997 West Bromwich Building Society has acquired a £90m mortgage portfolio from Century Life, and it intends to make similar acquisitions over the next few years. 06-Nov-1997 Abbey National is to set up a £5.8m telephone service and software development centre in Belfast, with £3.3m of government aid, creating 438 jobs. 05-Nov-1997 NatWest is to close its Hong Kong-based debt market division in order to focus its Asian operations in Tokyo and Singapore, with the loss of about 55 jobs. 05-Nov-1997 Ockham Holdings, previously known as Sturge, is buying back a 42% stake in its Highway motor insurance business from US investors for £19m. 04-Nov-1997 Dunedin Investment Trust has launched a takeover bid for Baronsmead Investment Trust, in order to establish a larger trust that will have more weight in the management buy-out industry. 01-Nov-1997 NatWest Markets has called off negotiations over the sale of its equity operations to Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, as they could not agree on price. 01-Nov-1997 Deutsche Morgan Grenfell is discussing the possible acquisition of National Westminster Bank's equities business. 30-Oct-1997 Amvescap, the fund management concern, is looking for acquisitions to grow its institutional and retail businesses in the UK and Asia, following its recent acquisition of the AIM Management group. 28-Oct-1997 Four potential buyers are discussing the acquisition of BZW's equity and advisory businesses, and they are Paribas of France and three US banks - Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette, Bankers Trust and Credit Suisse First Boston. 25-Oct-1997 National Savings is said to be planning to rationalise offices in Durham, Blackpool and Glasgow into one location in order to benefit from the sale of land suitable for redevelopment. 25-Oct-1997 Sainsbury's Bank has announced that over £1bn has been taken in deposits since its February launch, which is said to be above expectations. 24-Oct-1997 Electra Fleming, the private equity manager, is setting up a joint venture with Pactual Group in Brazil with the aim of investing in underperforming assets that have high growth potential. 23-Oct-1997 Willis Faber & Dumas, the Lloyd's of London members agent, has been sold by Willis Corroon, the insurance broker, to a management team for £3m. 22-Oct-1997 Hambros, the merchant bank, has appointed Schroders to carry out a review of its business and a restructuring of its banking operations could follow. 21-Oct-1997 M&G Group is to restructure its retail funds operation in order to offer a more diversified portfolio with improved performance, in a move which will affect 12 unit trusts. 21-Oct-1997 Fidelity Investments is planning to set up a life assurance company by next summer in order to benefit from the growing market for the management of money purchase pension schemes. 21-Oct-1997 Virgin Direct is introducing the Virgin One bank account in conjunction with the Royal Bank of Scotland, which will be a combined mortgage, current account, savings account and credit card, and its innovative design is intended to provide a serious threat to the big four banks. 18-Oct-1997 ShareLink, the private client stockbroker, is planning a major expansion into continental Europe and has renamed itself Charles Schwab Europe. 17-Oct-1997 Lloyds TSB is to launch a pilot scheme which will enable customers to use local post offices for basic banking transactions, a move designed to alleviate problems for customers who live in areas with few Lloyds TSB branches. 16-Oct-1997 Liverpool Victoria, the friendly society that sells insurance and pension products, is temporarily suspending its 270-strong salesforce due to concerns over record-keeping and possible mis-selling. 15-Oct-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland has signed a deal with the Link building society cashpoint network, which will mean that the Royal Bank's customers can now use every cash machine in the UK. 10-Oct-1997 Nikko Securities is to make London the centre for its international broking operations and is looking to collaborate with more foreign partners in order to make itself more multinational. 08-Oct-1997 Hill Samuel Life Assurance is to ask policyholders for the go-ahead to merge into Abbey Life, both businesses being parts of the Lloyds TSB group. 06-Oct-1997 Barclays is planning to sell the stockbroking, equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions businesses of its BZW investment banking division, thus ending its plans to set up a full-scale global investment bank. 04-Oct-1997 Willis Corroon has bought Marquis & Associates, the US property and casualty insurance broker, for an initial 1.25m shares. 02-Oct-1997 Northern Rock building society has made its stock market debut, bringing windfalls of £2,300 to each of its 885,000 members. 02-Oct-1997 NatWest has sold County NatWest Australia Investment Management to National Australia Bank for undisclosed terms. 02-Oct-1997 The Association for Payment Clearing Services is testing smart cards on a large scale in Northampton and Dunfermline, with nationwide roll-out expected over the next few years. 01-Oct-1997 Cowen & Company of New York is setting up a corporate finance operation in London. 30-Sep-1997 MeesPierson, the Dutch-owned investment bank, is to close its UK equity brokerage. 25-Sep-1997 General Accident has sold its Puerto Rican life company to American Annuity Group for £30m. 23-Sep-1997 Macquarie Bank of Australia is planning to move into the UK investment trust business with a product called Sterling Property Trust, which has £50m of initial capital and will undertake residential project financing. 22-Sep-1997 Nationwide is asking for new government legislation that would prevent a repeat of the recent campaign that tried to convert the building society into a bank. 22-Sep-1997 Sun Life & Provincial is considering plans to sell part of its 83% stake in New Ireland Holdings, and has received a number of approaches from potential buyers. 19-Sep-1997 Rabobank, the Dutch co-operative bank, is preparing to build up its London investment banking business, and has asked head-hunters to find 400 staff. 19-Sep-1997 National Westminster Bank is looking for a buyer for its broking and capital markets businesses in Australia and New Zealand as part of a strategy to re-focus its investment banking operations. 18-Sep-1997 First National, the Irish building society, is planning to convert to a bank with listings in Dublin and London and an expected valuation of up to £350m. 18-Sep-1997 The government is looking for ways to sell National Savings products through the private sector in order to boost the sales volume from the existing level of about £11bn a year. 18-Sep-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland has sold its 2% stake in Banesto, the Spanish bank, to Banco Santander for £75m. 17-Sep-1997 Barclays is to rename its unit trust business to Barclays Funds Limited and launch a range of simplified funds, while the Unicorn name will disappear. 16-Sep-1997 Legal & General is planning to launch a new flexible reserve mortgage scheme, which will enable home buyers to manage their own mortgage accounts. 12-Sep-1997 Commercial Union is reducing its stake in Societe Fonciere Lyonnaise to 41% in order to reduce its exposure to the troubled French property market, a move which should raise £30m of cash. 12-Sep-1997 Lloyds TSB is to start opening bank branches in Asda superstores, with the first appearing in Reading before Christmas. 10-Sep-1997 The government is considering plans for the introduction of compulsory long-term sickness insurance as part of an overhaul of disability benefits. 10-Sep-1997 State Street Global Advisers of the US is planning to expand into the UK pension fund market with the introduction of a number of index-tracking products at the end of this year. 10-Sep-1997 Electra Fleming is acquiring FBG, the Hamburg-based private equity firm, for undisclosed terms, in order to benefit from an expected increase in buy-outs in Germany. 10-Sep-1997 Robert Fleming has formed an investment banking and fund management joint venture in Egypt with the Mansour and El Maghraby companies. 09-Sep-1997 Card Clear, the credit card fraud protection company, is acquiring Transaction Billing Resources of the US for £6.5m. 05-Sep-1997 Abbey National is to start charging some of its Instant Plus account-holders who make transactions inside branches rather than using cash machines and phone banking. 03-Sep-1997 Northern Rock is planning to close up to a quarter of its 133 branches next year, but will try to re-employ the 110 staff affected. 03-Sep-1997 Arthur Andersen has taken a further step into the market for commercial legal services by linking up with Dundas & Wilson, the Scottish firm of solicitors, and hopes to form a similar tie-up in London. 02-Sep-1997 Yamaichi, the Japanese securities house, is planning to cut 48 jobs in London in order to cut costs and scale back its European business. 02-Sep-1997 Ivory & Sime, the fund manager based in Edinburgh, is looking for a buyer in order to finance the management of a larger distribution network. 30-Aug-1997 Provident Financial is moving into Poland by offering loans via two Polish agents, and is considering expansion into the Czech Republic next year. 29-Aug-1997 Hambro Countrywide, the estate agency and financial services company, is looking to acquire a life insurance company for up to £150m, but is not yet in any discussions. 27-Aug-1997 Irish Life is to stop taking new business at its Xaar Assurances operation in France, and will examine its options for the existing book of business. 27-Aug-1997 Halifax is looking to spend its £3.5bn of surplus capital on acquisitions, and wants to diversify further into consumer credit and insurance. 22-Aug-1997 Fishers International of Ireland has offered to buy Hambros' 54% stake in Hambro Insurance Services, but the approach has been rejected. 20-Aug-1997 Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette of the US is discussing the possible acquisition of London Global Securities, the securities lending concern, for £100m. 19-Aug-1997 GE Capital Services is acquiring the travel insurance business of Culver Holdings for up to £4.7m. 14-Aug-1997 General Accident has announced plans to cut 600 jobs in the US through the introduction of new technology. 13-Aug-1997 Prudential has increased its provision for compensating victims of pension mis-selling from £240m to £450m, in order to increase the speed at which it is clearing up cases. 07-Aug-1997 National Westminster Bank has rejected the idea of a merger with a major financial company, but it would be interested in the acquisition of a smaller company such as TSB Ireland. 06-Aug-1997 Sedgwick is forming a £50m joint venture with Nikols Brichetto, the Italian insurance broker, in which they will merge some of their risk services, insurance and reinsurance broking. 05-Aug-1997 Birmingham Midshires building society has bought a £460m commercial mortgage portfolio from UCB Bank for undisclosed terms. 05-Aug-1997 Abbey National is to open a call centre in Glasgow in November, creating 170 jobs. 05-Aug-1997 Virgin is looking into the possibility of setting up a bank, but it is more likely to be a telephone or computer-based service than one with high street branches. 04-Aug-1997 Lloyds TSB is now considering overseas expansion as a way of using its £1bn a year of surplus cash, as UK acquisitions could lead to competition problems. 02-Aug-1997 Lloyds TSB is to open an experimental branch in Salisbury with the Lloyds TSB joint brand name, having previously kept its Lloyds and TSB branches separate. 02-Aug-1997 Guardian Royal Exchange is planning to expand its North American business by acquiring small commercial and motor insurance companies, but appears to be losing interest in the acquisition of a UK life assurer. 31-Jul-1997 Misys, the supplier of insurance software, is to launch a service called Screen Trade in September, which will involve selling insurance policies over the internet in direct competition with some of its insurance broker customers. 31-Jul-1997 Abbey National has stated its intention to look for more acquisitions, but has rejected the concept of merging with another institution that would take it into areas of business that it is trying to avoid. 30-Jul-1997 Alliance & Leicester, which now has its headquarters in London, is to close six branches in its home town of Leicester, as part of a restructuring programme aimed at cutting its branch network and encouraging customers to use telephone or mail. 29-Jul-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland is in discussions to acquire the Birmingham Midshires building society for about £650m. 26-Jul-1997 Nationwide members have voted by a 70% majority for the building society to retain its mutual status, which is likely to help other building societies fight off pressure for them to convert to banks. 24-Jul-1997 The government has announced plans to set up a single regulatory body to monitor the insurance sector, building societies and other mutuals, taking responsibility away from the trade secretary. 24-Jul-1997 Northern Rock Building Society is selling Northern Rock Asset Management, its unit trust subsidiary, and Northern Rock Financial Services, the financial advisor, in preparation for its conversion to a bank. 24-Jul-1997 Tesco is to apply for a banking licence for its Tesco Personal Finance joint venture with Royal Bank of Scotland, which is currently using Royal Bank's banking licence. 23-Jul-1997 Tesco is launching its first credit card this week, through its joint venture with Royal Bank of Scotland, which will offer points towards its loyalty programme. 21-Jul-1997 National Westminster Bank and Prudential Corporation have terminated merger discussions due to failure to agree terms. 19-Jul-1997 Friends Provident is in discussions to sell Preferred Direct, which sells motor insurance by telephone. 17-Jul-1997 NatWest Markets is to use New York as the base for its US stockbroking business in order to improve competitiveness. 12-Jul-1997 Northern Rock has announced that its flotation and conversion to a bank will take place on October 1. 12-Jul-1997 Willis Corroon is putting Sovereign, its marine and general insurance subsidiary which stopped underwriting six years ago, into liquidation. 12-Jul-1997 Legal & General is setting up a telephone banking service offering an instant access account with rates of up to 7%. 09-Jul-1997 Norwich Union has extended its contract with Barclays, and will be Barclays' preferred supplier of personal general insurance products for a further five and a half years. 08-Jul-1997 Prudential is to close Scottish Amicable's investment management operation in Glasgow, moving £15bn of investments to its own fund management operation, and selling £800m of business to Britannia Building Society. 08-Jul-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland has acquired an £8m stake in Computershare, the Australian share trading software company. 02-Jul-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to sell 50% of its shares in Direct Line Life Holdings to Scottish Widows for undisclosed terms. 02-Jul-1997 Standard Life has been awarded a licence to open a second office in China, this time in Shanghai, but it does not yet have permission to sell products there. 01-Jul-1997 National Westminster Bank is trying to end rumours of a possible takeover bid by Barclays, by asking the Takeover Panel to get Barclays to announce its intentions. 30-Jun-1997 Premier Asset Management is acquiring GEM Dolphin Investment Managers, the unit trust broker owned by Brewin Dolphin Bell Lawrie, and GEM Investment Management, at a cost of about £1.6m. 28-Jun-1997 Avco Trust is to set up a customer service centre in Sunderland, creating 220 jobs. 25-Jun-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland is setting up a new offshore banking service at its Jersey office aimed at high net-worth individuals. 21-Jun-1997 Charterhouse, the merchant bank, is reorganising its corporate finance business and concentrating on advising UK companies in three industrial sectors in order to improve its performance. 20-Jun-1997 Nationwide Building Society has now stopped accepting applications for new savings accounts in order to deter speculators hoping for windfall profits if it decides to convert to a bank. 19-Jun-1997 Willis Corroon, the insurance broker, has sold Willis Faber & Dumas, a Lloyd's members' agent, to management for undisclosed terms. 19-Jun-1997 Nationwide is increasing the minimum balances required on new accounts in response to a big increase in activity caused by people hoping to benefit if the building society decides to convert into a bank. 17-Jun-1997 Barclays is planning to expand its asset management and investment banking operations in Japan in an alliance with Hokkaido Takushoku, in anticipation of the country's financial deregulation. 17-Jun-1997 National Westminster Bank is considering plans to scale back the ambitions of its NatWest Markets investment banking operation in order to improve returns to institutional shareholders. 16-Jun-1997 Abbey National is in talks that could lead to it acquiring Cater Allen, the former discount house and merchant bank, for up to £200m, as it is said to be interested in the offshore investment business and Cater Deal. 16-Jun-1997 Bank of Scotland is to set up a £10m call centre in Motherwell, creating 500 jobs. 14-Jun-1997 Commercial Union, the composite insurer, is launching a cost cutting drive aimed at saving up to £100m over the next two years, in response to the stagnant market for general insurance. 11-Jun-1997 Prudential has been ordered by the Securities and Investments Board to re-test its 5,500 sales personnel following accusations that they have been wrongly advising non-taxpaying clients to use the Prudential Savings Account. 04-Jun-1997 HSBC is to acquire the Roberts SA de Inversiones, the Argentine financial services group, for over $600m. 31-May-1997 Guardian Royal Exchange is setting up two joint ventures in India with the Murugappa Group, one involving risk management and the other insurance. 27-May-1997 Commercial Union is to acquire Houston General, the US subsidiary of Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance of Japan, although terms are still being discussed. 23-May-1997 Nationwide Building Society is under pressure from a group called Members for Conversion, who want it to convert to a bank, and are putting five people up for election to the board. 22-May-1997 Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the US investment bank, is to set up a private client services group in London, and expects to double its London staff to about 300 over the next few years. 19-May-1997 Pearl Assurance is considering a move into banking and direct phone sales in order to increase sales to existing insurance customers. 19-May-1997 Midland Bank is to set up a call centre in Edinburgh to improve customer service, creating 600 jobs. 16-May-1997 Sedgwick, the insurance broker, is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange in June, where it expects to get a better rating than in the UK. 14-May-1997 Scottish Widows has acquired a 30% stake in Royal Scottish Assurance, the Royal Bank of Scotland subsidiary, as part of an alliance in life assurance and savings between the two companies. 14-May-1997 Royal & Sun Alliance has sold Sun Alliance International Life Assurance, its Guernsey-based subsidiary, to Generali of Italy for £15m. 14-May-1997 Commercial Union is acquiring York Insurance of Maine, USA, for £20m. 14-May-1997 National Westminster Bank is to use Standard Chartered to handle its trade processing in Asia, and will close its own operations in the region. 09-May-1997 Price Waterhouse has won a £2m contract to police the Association of British Insurers' voluntary code of conduct, which covers car, house and other general insurance. 07-May-1997 Norwich Union, the life insurer, has revealed that its flotation will take place on June 16, and it is expected to be worth about £5bn. 07-May-1997 The Co-operative Bank is to launch a biodegradable credit card in association with Monsanto, with Greenpeace receiving a donation of 25p per transaction and £5 for each new card issued. 06-May-1997 Midland Bank has opened its first branch in a supermarket, at the Morrison's Enterprise 5 store in Bradford, which will be open 82 hours a week and offer a variety of services including foreign exchange and travel insurance. 06-May-1997 Northern Rock is introducing a phone-based direct mortgage service, with the first product to be called Promise Mortgage. 03-May-1997 Alliance & Leicester is selling Stiles Harold Williams, its estate agency business, to Cannonguard for an initial £250,000. 30-Apr-1997 Standard Life is planning to launch a banking operation in order to exploit the large amounts it pays out in maturing life policies. 29-Apr-1997 Prudential is linking up with Industrial Credit and Investment Corp of India to prepare for the possible opening up of the Indian life insurance market to foreign competition. 22-Apr-1997 Legal & General is to start selling low-cost, satisfaction-guaranteed pensions over the telephone, with premiums as low as £50 per month. 22-Apr-1997 Standard Life is expected to soon announce plans to offer savings facilities, personal loans and other banking services. 21-Apr-1997 Citibank has introduced Direct Access, a computer-based personal banking service, to the UK. 18-Apr-1997 Pearl Assurance is to stop selling new policies that require cash collection due to the high costs involved. 18-Apr-1997 Sedgwick is to merge its southern European and Latin American insurance operations with Nikols, the Italian insurance group. 16-Apr-1997 Commercial Union is acquiring a 51% stake in Marlborough Underwriting for up to £5.8m from the Blenheim partnership. 09-Apr-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland's Citizens Financial Group is to acquire the Bank of New Haven in Connecticut for $57m. 09-Apr-1997 United Assurance is to cut its branches from 279 to 116 and cut the number of jobs in home services insurance from 6,400 to 4,200, in order to save £37m a year. 04-Apr-1997 First Direct is planning to build a new telephone call centre near Glasgow, which will create 5,000 jobs over the next 7 years. 02-Apr-1997 National Provident Institution, the life insurer, has rejected a takeover approach from Australian Mutual Provident, as it wants to stay mutual. 02-Apr-1997 Lambert Fenchurch is linking up with Pantaenius to set up a general insurance broking joint venture in Germany. 02-Apr-1997 Midland Bank has reached agreement to open branches in Wm Morrison supermarkets, and a "Midland at Morrisons" savings account is likely to be introduced later this year. 26-Mar-1997 Lloyds TSB is acquiring the consumer banking division of Banco Multiplic, its Brazilian associate. 26-Mar-1997 Royal & Sun Alliance has acquired the individual life portfolio of Gerling Global Life in Canada, worth £42m. 25-Mar-1997 Card Clear, the supplier of credit card payment services, is acquiring Transaction Billing Resources of the US for up to £6.9m. 19-Mar-1997 Woodchester, the Dublin-based financial services concern, is inviting offers for 100% of the company, with Credit Lyonnais selling its 54% stake. 14-Mar-1997 Lambert Fenchurch is to acquire a 40% stake in Reliance, the US insurer, for £2.4m. 08-Mar-1997 Willis Corroon has acquired Lockton's commercial insurance business in Nashville for up to $1.8m. 08-Mar-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland has opened a mezzanine finance subsidiary in order to invest £150m in various forms of junior debt. 07-Mar-1997 The government is planning to privatise the state pension system over the next half century, with new entrants to the job market relying entirely on private sector pension funds for their retirement income. 06-Mar-1997 Northern Rock building society is expected to pay windfall bonuses of an average £1,400 to its 900,000 members when it converts into a bank in October. 04-Mar-1997 Standard Chartered is planning to invest in the strengthening of its protected position in a number of Asian banking markets, in order to prepare for the time when the protection disappears. 27-Feb-1997 Guardian Royal Exchange is planning to expand its UK life and health business through a £1bn acquisition, and hopes to complete a deal over the next 12 months. 26-Feb-1997 Scottish Widows is to set up a life assurance company in Jersey to supply investment products to expatriates and international investors. 26-Feb-1997 Halifax building society has won the backing of its members to convert into a bank, following a vote which showed 97% approval. 25-Feb-1997 Citibank of the US is linking up with the Cripps Harries Hall firm of UK solicitors to supply tax, banking and investment services to high-income customers. 21-Feb-1997 J Sainsbury has introduced the first Sainsbury's Banks into supermarkets in the Midlands, the north and Scotland, offering an interest rate of 5.75% on an instant access account. 20-Feb-1997 Total sales of new life assurance and pension policies rose 33% to £18.9bn in 1996 according to the Association of British Insurers. 19-Feb-1997 Sedgwick Group is acquiring an additional 50% stake in River Thames Insurance from Transamerica Corp for up to £14m, taking its interest to 99%. 19-Feb-1997 National Westminster Bank has set up a new unit called NatWest Wealth Management which will combine its life assurance, fund management and private banking operations. 14-Feb-1997 Medway is planning a listing on Aim in order to raise £70m to fund the purchase of Hansa Re, the US insurer. 13-Feb-1997 Eagle Star has acquired Irish National Insurance, the subsidiary of New Ireland Holdings, for £29m. 13-Feb-1997 Woolwich Building Society is to go ahead with a £3.2bn flotation, following a vote by members which indicated 95% approval. 12-Feb-1997 J Sainsbury and Bank of Scotland have won a banking licence to set up Sainsbury's Bank, which should be up and running within six weeks. 11-Feb-1997 National Westminster Bank's Lombard Tricity Finance division is planning to acquire the retail credit units of Yorkshire Bank. 11-Feb-1997 HSBC is joining forces with Wachovia Corp, the US bank, to market cash management and trade finance services, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. 11-Feb-1997 Safeway has launched a debit card account with Abbey National, and will later introduce debit cards with overdrafts and Visa cards. 11-Feb-1997 Commercial Union has set up a subsidiary to sell life insurance and pensions in the Czech Republic. 10-Feb-1997 Prudential has made a takeover bid of £1.9bn for Scottish Amicable, thus topping the offer made by Abbey National. 06-Feb-1997 Liberty Mutual Group of the US is setting up a reinsurance company in London with a capital base of £250m. 06-Feb-1997 Lloyds TSB is discussing the acquisition of the banking business of Banco Multiplic, its Brazilian associate. 05-Feb-1997 Eagle Star is to set up a motor repair garage in the West Midlands as a pilot scheme to see if it helps control insurance claims. 03-Feb-1997 Abbey National has made a takeover approach for Scottish Amicable, the life assurer which recently announced plans to shed its mutual status. 31-Jan-1997 Larmcrest is acquiring Smithson Mason, the insurance broker, and Smithson Mason Financial Services, from Saltire for £2.3m. 30-Jan-1997 National Home Loans is changing its name to Paragon as it is no longer just a mortgage business. 30-Jan-1997 Switch is introducing the Solo payment card which requires all payments to be electronically referred to the bank for approval. 29-Jan-1997 Prudential has been fined £75,000 by the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation for breaching rules on personal equity plans between 1988 and 1994. 28-Jan-1997 Minet, the insurance broker, could be sold by the St Paul Companies of the US to Marsh & McLennan as talks are under way. 27-Jan-1997 Liberty Mutual of the US is to set up a £3.5m subsidiary in Belfast to develop insurance software for use throughout the group, creating 124 jobs. 24-Jan-1997 Churchill is to introduce insurance products aimed at higher risk customers, such as young drivers, in an attempt to become less reliant on the mainstream motor insurance sector which is highly competitive. 23-Jan-1997 Britannia building society has closed one of its main accounts in order to deter speculators who believe there may windfall bonuses in the offing if the society decides to convert to a bank. 22-Jan-1997 Royal Bank of Scotland is launching a full banking service on the internet and will overcome security fears by guaranteeing a refund for any transaction not authorised by the customer. 22-Jan-1997 Abbey National is acquiring a 5% stake in Dah Sing Financial Holdings, the Hong Kong financial services company, for £30m as its aims to expand its Asian business. 21-Jan-1997 Scottish Amicable, the life assurance company, is planning to lose its mutual status and undergo a flotation in 3-5 years with a value of up to £1.5bn. 17-Jan-1997 Lowndes Lambert has announced the terms of a £29m agreed takeover offer for Fenchurch, its rival insurance broker, and aims to cut 5% of their combined costs after completion of the deal. 17-Jan-1997 Woolwich Building Society is to start providing motor, travel and pet insurance, and will install a general insurance adviser in its 400 branches this year. 16-Jan-1997 Independent Insurance is to link up with US F&G in order to offer each other's clients underwriting services and insurance cover in their respective domestic markets. 15-Jan-1997 Wesleyan Assurance is introducing a customer loyalty scheme which will pay a special bonus to 700,000 life assurance policyholders. 15-Jan-1997 Matrixx Marketing, the provider of customer care to American Express cardholders in Europe, is creating 150 jobs in Newcastle upon Tyne, many for French and German speakers. 14-Jan-1997 AMP of Australia is planning to double the size of its UK operation and expand into Europe by acquiring a UK life and pensions company as part of a £3bn global expansion. 13-Jan-1997 Zurich Insurance is introducing a new motor insurance policy that will provide multinational companies with a single policy for their international car fleets. 13-Jan-1997 Halifax building society has announced its flotation plans, which will see it transform into a bank in June with a value of up to £12bn. 11-Jan-1997 Abbey National is planning a new mortgage service centre in Stockton-on-Tees, with the creation of up to 200 jobs. 11-Jan-1997 Lowndes Lambert is preparing plans to merge with its rival insurance broker Fenchurch in order to improve competitiveness in the rapidly consolidating market. 11-Jan-1997 Eagle Star has launched a new low-cost pension with a £2 monthly fee and a 1% annual management charge, while customers switching to another insurer within two years will get a full refund of charges. 08-Jan-1997 General Accident is considering plans to make an acquisition in order to achieve its aim of doubling new premium income from sales of life assurance, investment products and pensions over the next three years. 07-Jan-1997 Wesleyan Financial Services has acquired ProVision, the direct sales division of Clerical Medical Investment Group, for undisclosed terms. 07-Jan-1997 Royal & Sun Alliance has sold Newark, its personal lines insurance business in New Jersey to the Robert Plan Corporation. 07-Jan-1997 The information below comes from the UK Activity Report. 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