The share of Britain's GDP accounted for by insurance and finance, including retail services like arranging mortgages, has already dropped to just under 8% from above 9% in 2007.

ECONOMIST: Britain��s financial industry

That is why doing so is so common, and is considered basic, sound practice, including with all insurance reserves, as well as retirement finance.

FORBES: Social Security Personal Accounts And The Financial Crisis

Tesco Personal Finance currently offers a limited range of financial products, including car and health insurance, credit cards, personal loans and online savings accounts, but there has been speculation that after current accounts they could branch out into the area of mortgages.

FORBES: Market Scan

KBW, Inc. ( KBW) is a research driven, boutique investment bank focused exclusively on financial services companies, including banks, thrifts, insurance, brokers, asset managers, specialty finance, exchanges and REITS. It offers investment banking, sales, trading research and asset management.

FORBES: 8 Small Bank Stocks On Sale