One piece of M&A activity which has been missed by many is Financial Express's acquisition of the eValue team from Towers Watson.

The proportion of mortgage deals needing more than a 25% deposit has fallen to a two-year low.

Intriguingly entitled "Product Intervention", the FSA's modest 72-page (including appendices) DP 11/1 could actually be the most explosive read this year.

TISA has issued an industry-wide Service Level Agreement which will allow platform providers to start piloting their re-registration procedures.

News Barclays is to close its financial planning arm should be seen as a major opportunity for IFAs to attract clients who can no longer rely on their bank for advice.

Private client investment manager Brewin Dolphin will be forced to pay out a £6m FSCS interim levy this year compared to just £1m last year.

The recent discussion paper on product intervention is basically a 75-page confession by the FSA of its many failings in the retail market.

The FSA could force advisers to take further qualifications when they are advising on specific non-mainstream products the regulator fears could lead to poor customer outcomes.

The FSA wants the power to ban financial products, cap prices and add risk warnings to products, in a "radical rethink" of consumer protection rules.

Friends Provident's Trevor Matthews is to step down as CEO and hand over the reins to former Scottish Widows chief Andy Briggs.