moneysupermarket.com: Britannia and Co-op merger

Commenting on the likely merger between Britannia Building Society and Co-operative Financial Services, Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said: "2009 was always predicted to be a year of banking and building society mergers as brands fight tooth and nail to stay afloat. But with an ever increasing amount of UK financial services in the hands of a few (mostly Government owned) institutions a strong, independent mutual sector should be encouraged.

"The Co-op and Britannia should be a good fit and the board say this will present a new way of banking, but words will need to be matched with deeds. We should all watch closely to ensure this isn't just hot air. It is certainly going to take something special to convince customers that they will be the winners from this.

Kevin Mountford's top tip: "Britannia and the Co-op will maintain their separate FSCS banking registrations, meaning up to £50,000 in savings will be protected with each of them - not just one of them."