NATWEST AGREES TERMS WITH WIFE OF EX-INDEPENDENT CHIEF

The wife of Michael Bright, the former chief executive of failed UK insurer Independent, has settled a legal dispute with locally based banking group NatWest for repayment of her husband’s debts, the Financial Times reports. Stephen Moss of local law firm Reid Minty, which is acting for NatWest, said that Mrs Bright would pay a “substantial” sum to the bank, though the exact figure has not been made public. The bank issued proceedings against Catherine Bright in October for nearly £300,000 outstanding on mortgages held by the couple, with the case scheduled to be heard in the country’s High Court later in the year. Mr Bright was declared bankrupt in August with debts of almost £5m. The firm he fronted is currently being investigated by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.