Simon Brookhouse, with over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, will be responsible for the running of all the firm’s day to day businesses, across all geographic regions and for all products...

National Bank of Canada has announced that its Board of Directors is to swell to 15 in size (including four women), with the appointment of Louise Laflamme. Laflamme has worked in the industry for 35 years.. 

Swedish bank Swedbank has announced that Michael Wolf will be the firm’s new chief executive officer, taking up the post no later than 24 April 2009. 

Lloyds TSB Group plc announced today the appointment of Mark Fisher as Director of Group IT & Operations and a member of the Group Executive Committee (GEC). This appointment completes the make-up of the new GEC that will lead the newly named Lloyds Banking Group plc following the acquisition of HBOS plc.. 

Investment bank UBS has announced the appointment of Philip Lofts as the new group chief risk officer with immediate effect. Lofts is also given a seat on the Group Executive Board and replaces Joseph Scoby who returns to his prior post as global head of Alternative and Quantitative Investments (A&Q). 

Credit Suisse Group has begun a global layoff of 500 employees with most of the cuts coming from the investment banking divisions in the US and the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. The cuts are directly related to the downturn in the markets and shrinking demand for the firm’s investment banking services. 

Lloyds TSB has hired only one executive from HBOS, owner of Halifax and Bank of Scotland, to join the new board of the merged bank. Sir Victor Blank, chairman of Lloyds TSB and Eric Daniels, the bank's chief executive, will retain their positions on the board of the combined lender. However, only Harry Baines, company secretary at HBOS.... 

Credit Suisse has appointed Ray McGregor as managing director and chief of private banking for Australia in a move to build up the Swiss banks wealth management team in the country, according to various press reports.. 

The men at the top of Scotland's two big banks are to go, after the government announced a 37bn Pound bail-out. RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin has stepped down and RBS chairman Tom McKillop is to retire. HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby and chairman Lord Dennis Stevenson are also to stand down from their posts.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the bail-out was: "unprecedented but essential for all of us and would thaw frozen money markets.