Britain's sixth biggest bank, Abbey National, could take as long as three years to restructure its business, sources said today.
The complex nature of scaling down Abbey's wholesale bank, including possible job cuts and writedowns, will take time, the sources said. More specific details are expected when the bank reports annual results on February 26th.
The ailing bank - Britain's first building society to demutualise - was subject to a merger attempt by Bank of Ireland last year, but shareholders rejected the approach in favour of a process of restructuring.
But it is still vulnerable to takeover, although the current boardroom, led by Arnold and finance director Mr Stephen Hester, is keen to keep the firm independent. The British government blocked a hostile bid by British bankLloyds TSB for Abbey in 2001 on competition grounds.
The bank's boardroom is expected to be separated into directors focusing on the group's profitable retail bank business and those dealing with winding down or selling non-core assets.
Abbey shares rose 1.65 per cent in morning trade to 430 pence. The DJ Stoxx European bank sector, which Abbey has underperformed by nearly 50 per cent over the last year, was up 1.7 per cent.
PA