Europe's largest mutual life insurer Standard Life today said it was considering a stock market flotation.
The company said it was carrying out a strategic review in the light of fundamental changes in the industry, looking at the options for changing its structure, including demutualising.
It also announced plans to raise £750m of debt and said its chief executive Iain Lumsden was to retire and be replaced by the current chief executive of Standard Life Investments, Sandy Crombie.
Standard Life has been locked in talks with the UK's Financial Services Authority since December over the impact of a new 'realistic accounting regime' on its balance sheet.
Reports speculated that the company had seen its level of core capital more than halved once the new rules were implemented.
The group would not elaborate on the details of the discussions, but said it had now reached an agreement and stressed that its financial position remained very strong.
The FSA said in a statement that there had been a 'significant divergence' in Standard Life's calculation of its liabilities and the higher level of reserving it needed under the new regime compared with the current rules.
Standard Life said today it would immediately set aside increased reserves for guaranteed bonuses to its policyholders, and would take further steps to improve
its calculation of its future liabilities.
It said demutualising was only one of a number of options being considered as part of the strategic review.
