London awaits banks' reports

The banking reporting season reaches its climax next week with key players HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland and the newly listed Bradford & Bingley all reporting annual figures.

HSBC is expected to report a rise in pre-tax profits to £7.5bn on Monday, from the previous year's £7.02bn, forecasts stockbroker Gerrard.

Full-year figures from Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday are expected to show a rise in pre-tax profits to £4.25bn, up from £1.21bn last time round.

Of most interest to market watchers will be a progress report on the bank's integration of NatWest. NatWest is expected to have boosted the figures in its own right, while RBS will also have benefited from a large reduction in costs as a result of the acquisition.

The City will keenly await any information from newly listed Bradford & Bingley on the state of the mortgage market, especially in the wake of this week's spat on rates between Halifax and Nationwide.

With observers still nervous about the prospect of a mortgage price war, the City will want to know more how B&B intends to respond to the challenge laid down by its rivals.

Pre-tax profits, in its maiden set of results since listing, are expected to come in at £260m, up on last time's £154.7m.

Much of cement group Blue Circle's full-year results on Monday are likely to centre on the timing of its takeover by French rival Lafarge, with the City predicting it could take until April for the deal to be completed due to regulatory issues.

Nevertheless, Blue Circle is expected to show a healthy set of figures with pre-tax profits predicted to come in at £328m, up from £272.1m last time.

The City will be looking for a positive outlook from computer services group CMG when it reports its full-year figures on Monday. Developments in CMG's telecommunications division will be the focus on attention as this is likely to be the key growth driver in the near future, with pre-tax profits predicted to come in at £120.4m, up by £36.8m on last time.