Close Brothers Group Plc, the 130- year-old London-based investment bank, said Chief Executive Officer Colin Keogh will step down as it posted a 32 percent decline in full-year profit.

Keogh, 55, will stay with the company until a successor is found, the firm said in a Regulatory News Service statement today. Net income fell to 90 million pounds ($164 million) from 132.9 million pounds, as profit from its securities and corporate finance units decreased.
Close Brothers lends to small and medium-sized companies and provides merger advice, share trading and asset-management services.
Like London-based rivals Panmure Gordon & Co. and Evolution Group Plc, Close's earnings are suffering from a decline in equity markets and a slump in deals such as mergers and share offerings following last year's credit crunch. London's FTSE 100 Index has declined 21 percent this year.
``We expect difficult market conditions to continue to affect the group's performance in the current financial year,'' Close said in the statement.
Close fell 2.6 percent to 640 pence in London trading on Sept. 26, bringing this year's decline to 33 percent. That valued the company at 928 million pounds.
(Source: Bloomberg)