Merger plan at Royal London

THE UK's largest mutual life and pensions company is to merge two of its international arms insurance businesses.

Royal London announced the decision to bring together Edinburgh-based Scottish Life International and Scottish Provident International Life Assurance in a bid to create a business that can compete more aggressively in the international marketplace.

John Deane, chief executive of Royal London's intermediary division, said: "We have looked hard at how best to achieve our ambitions to provide an enhanced platform for profitable growth and it was clear that there were likely to be considerable advantages in creating a single international business."

SLI chief executive David Kneeshaw is to lead a steering group charged with designing the best model.