Supermarkets on the march

UK supermarkets are keen to replicate the success of Carrefour in France and have recently launched several guaranteed equity bonds. But selling such products without professional advice is causing concern. Shamillia Sivathambu investigates

It is no secret that the big European supermarket chains are increasingly branching out into the financial services sector. As high-street banks have tried to cut operating costs, there has been widespread closure of bank branches in the past 10 years, leaving inner city and rural communities without a local financial shop. It seems inevitable that supermarkets, as the largest retail distributors