The board of Abbey National was understood to be meeting today to discuss whether to recommend an £8bn-plus (€12bn) takeover approach from a Spanish bank.

Abbey National has said its profit policyholders will miss out on their annual bonus for a second consecutive year.

Peter Towers and Philip McDuell have resigned as directors of Scottish Mutual International Investment Fund plc.

Abbey National, Britain's second biggest mortgage lender, announced that it is to invest in its facility in Belfast as part of its wide-ranging review of operations.

BARGAIN-HUNTERS seized on cheap stocks yesterday as the FTSE 100 Index surged almost 100 points during a rare upbeat session.

Two of the biggest names in the British financial sector unveiled closer ties today after Abbey National struck a distribution agreement with Prudential.

Scottish Provident Ireland, a part of the Abbey National Group, has negotiated a special deal with Fyntel, a financial software company based in Dublin's IFSC, to provide a new Broker customer relationship management software exclusively to Scottish Provident brokers nationwide.