United Kingdom

UK - Pension schemes are to hold top-level talks with the Bank of England over fears that a US banking law discriminates against overseas depositors.

UK - Michael Arnold, senior partner at consultant Hymans Robertson, is to be the independent actuary for the Equitable Life Assurance Society's compromise agreement.

UK - The £1.5bn GM Investment Trustees plan to create a new corporate bond investment vehicle.

UK - Clerical Medical has been appointed as AVC provider to the £1.5bn Coats Viyella Pension Plan.

UK - The financial services ombudsman Walter Merricks has called on the actuarial profession to become become more open, transparent and accountable.

UK - HVB International Markets and Frank Russell are joining forces to create a series of private equity fund of funds for institutional and private investors in Germany and Austria. The first products will be the European, global and US-only private...

UK - British Telecom has shortlisted three managers to run mandates for its new defined contribution (DC) scheme, the British Telecom Retirement Plan (BTRP).

UK - Global index group FTSE has teamed up with Mondo Visione, publisher of the Handbook of World Stock, Derivative and Commodity Exchanges, to produce the first index which tracks listed exchanges and other trading venues.

UK - Baring, Houston & Saunders (B,H&S), a member of ING Real Estate, has announced that Hunters, the specialist property asset manager, is merging its practice into B,H&S.

UK - Old Mutual has appointed Edmond Warner as chief executive of Old Mutual Financial Services (OMFS), with responsibility for all the group's UK businesses.