Scots identities fade in financial services sector as Dunfermline rebrands

As the consolidation of the global financial services market continues, many of the industry's famous Scottish names are being consigned to history.

Next month, on 13 June, after nearly 150 years, the last remaining handful of Dunfermline building society branches will disappear. When they reopen on Monday morning, Dunfermline will be no more - replaced by the Nationwide building society.

Dunfermline, whose 34 branches hold £2bn in deposits and have 300,000 customers, was rescued by Nationwide in 2009 after the government refused to bail out the loss-making organisation. The demise of the 145-year-old name was announced last year as part of a branch closure programme.

Other well-known brands are disappearing from the Scottish financial services industry. The Scottish Life and Scottish Provident brands are also being ditched by their owner, Royal London. The two brands, with a combined history of more than 300 years, will vanish over the next two years, to be replaced by the Royal London name.

In the Republic of Ireland, Royal London trades under a name rich in Scottish ancestry. Its Caledonia Life brand was launched in 2001 as a new force in the Irish financial services sector. It is a business that claims to be built on the foundations of the Caledonian Insurance Company, founded in Edinburgh in 1805. It became part of the Guardian group of companies in 1958 and the name slipped out of sight before it was resurrected in Ireland.

Scottish Amicable, founded in 1826, is another venerable brand that was eroded by history, despite becoming one of Scotland's best-known fund managers. It managed £14bn of assets and employed 3,000 people before the Prudential bought it in 1997 for nearly £3bn. Four years later the name was abandoned and confined to obscurity.

Aviva is the exception. It is one of Scotland's oldest companies, incorporated in Perth in February 1891. As the insurance industry changed so did the name, as Aviva became General Accident in 1906. Eventually, through mergers with Commercial Union and Norwich Union, the insurer revived the original Aviva name in 2002.