RSA says farewell to old guard

INSURER Royal & Sun Alliance completed a clean sweep of the boardroom under chief executive Andy Haste, waving goodbye to Bob Ayling, former BA boss and last relic of the former regime.

His re-appointment as a non-executive director last year provoked huge unrest among private investors, who saw him as an enduring symbol of the failures of RSA's former boss Bob Mendelsohn.

RSA will reveal it has shelved plans to off-load its majority stake in Danish insurer Codan, worth £740m, when it unveils interim figures later today.

The decision to pull the sale will be interpreted as proof Haste is no longer desperate for cash to patch up the company's threadbare balance sheet.

Its finances will be bolstered by the £850m receipts from selling its UK life arm.