UK

Nationalised lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to repay the final tranche of the £163bn in emergency loans it took from the UK government, and will resume paying dividends on its preference shares.

Premier has expanded its global equities team with the appointment of James Smith who joins from Utilico in June.

Lloyds Banking Group has set aside an extra £375m to cater for a new raft of compensation claims related to the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI).

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has more than doubled the annual levy for financial advisers for 2012/13, largely as a result of known claims relating to Arch Cru and MF Global.

There were fiery exchanges at Barclays' AGM today, as shareholders grilled CEO Bob Diamond over his pay packet, the PPI mis-selling scandal, and the value of the bank's shares.

UK ECONOMY

Old Mutual said the merger of its two UK asset management businesses could result in job losses - but denied the move is a "cost-cutting" exercise.

Britain's fall back into recession will drag on until June at the earliest and condemn the country to another lost year, economists have warned.

Old Mutual is unifying its two UK asset management businesses, Old Mutual Asset Managers UK (OMAM UK) and Skandia Investment Group (SIG), into a single business with the view to rebrand under one name.

Royal Bank of Scotland could see £20bn wiped off its value if planned banking reforms go ahead, according to its CEO.