Job shuffle rumours at Standard Life

Standard Life is said to be hunting for a new finance director before it demutualises and floats on the stock market.

The company's finance director, John Hylands, has been in the post since 2001 but after recent problems at the firm the board of directors might need new blood to convince the City to invest in it. Mr Hylands was previously marketing manager since 1994.

The company said last month that it would demutualise and float on the stock market to raise money. The Financial Services Authority has told companies to put more money aside to cover future liabilities, but Standard Life does not have the resources.

"They have hired an executive search firm to find them a new group finance director as well as a new CEO for UK life and pensions and an MD for risk and compliance," an unnamed source told the Reuters agency yesterday. Standard Life declined to comment.

It follows calls this week for chief executive Sandy Crombie to resign, as the architect of the company's decision to stay heavily invested in equities throughout one of the worst bear markets in history. On Tuesday the members of the mutual company, who are all customers, gave the management a roasting with calls at the AGM in Edinburgh for an apology for the firm's performance. The policyholders were also incensed by the board of directors' payment of six-figure bonuses.

The City is not bothered about bonuses but it is concerned about poor performance.

"I thought [Crombie] was quite reasonable," said Roman Cizdyn, an analyst at Commerzbank. "But it's hard when he had those problems ... I would be surprised if [Hylands] was there in two years, he is part of the old guard, [he is associated with] the problems with capital."

A spokesman for Standard Life said: "There is heightened speculation at the moment ... We will not be put in the position where we will be forced to comment on every bit of speculation that has been kicking around."