It seems strange only a few years ago Friends Provident de-mutualised in order to gain a stock market listing, and one imagines access to cash and/or credit, and now we learn the merger with Resolution Life is a good thing because surplus funds are avaliable from this source to finance expansion. Not only that but Friends have accumulated a £2 billion mountain of debt which surely would make the original Quaker founding fathers quake in their graves.
Whilst it would appear extra shareholder value will be created, but how will this proposed consolodation benefit the "with profit" policyholders? We shall be watching with interest what happens to Friends Provident's bonus rates over the coming years, as neither group have excelled in this area in recent years.