Britannia in merger talks with Co-op

Any tie-up would depend on changes to the Building Societies (Funding) & Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act, which is currently at the House of Commons committee stage. Britannia expects the legislation to be in place by the end of the year. Should a merger be completed, Britannia says the combined business could offer a "real ethical, customer-owned alternative" to the plc market, backed by £70bn of assets and six million customers. Britannia has an extensive savings and mortgage franchise – while CFS includes brands Co-operative Bank, Co-operative Insurance and Co-operative Investments....