And its honourable reputation is also reflected in its unrivalled popularity in the corporate sector.

Investment returns, 1999

16% on with-profits policies 23% on UK equity 35% on overseas equity

Equitable is the second largest life insurer in the UK, and the largest mutual insurance company.

It does not have shareholders or distribute profits in the form of dividends.

Rather, it is owned by its members and any profits are returned to policy-holders.

Corporate success

Equitable Life provides group pension schemes to more than half of the UK's 500 largest companies.

And it has an estimated 75% share of all the UK's corporate additional voluntary contribution (AVCs) schemes.

Equitable Life's popularity is not unfounded.

It is thought to have the most efficient computer system in the industry, reflecting the underlying efficiency of the wider organisation that functions on a tight budget.

"We don't have shareholders, we don't pay commission to third parties, and our operating costs are generally acknowledged to be the lowest in the industry," boasted the mutual in its annual report.

Equitable's portfolio

450,000 with-profits policies 200,000 non-profit policies 90,000 GAR policies

In 1999 it won the "Pension Provider of the Year" title from the pensions industry magazine.

And its website was rated above all others for pensions information by Investors Chronicle.

Equitable Life gained its high profile through sharply directed advertising campaigns.

Targeting the affluent

Although the society is less of a household name than its competitors such as The Prudential and Scottish Widows, its regular advertisements in The Financial Times and The Sunday Times ensured that it was well known amongst the most affluent members of society.

Equitable also played on the fact that it did not pay commission to third parties.

But they did have an aggressive sales force, motivated by substantial bonuses and performance related pay.

All of the above combined to make Equitable Life a very attractive takeover target for its competitors.

But the fifteen suitors all gradually withdrew, fearing to adopt the liability of its Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR) policies.

Rejection

The amount due to GAR policyholders will be determined by long-term interest patterns, leaving it shrouded in uncertainty.

The Prudential was the last insurer to withdraw. "We tried very hard to make a deal work, but at the end of the day it just didn't add value for shareholders or policyholders," a spokesman for the Prudential told BBC News Online.

Ironically, the fact that Equitable was such a well-run firm may also have contributed to its rejection.

Because of the existing cost and administrative efficiency, there were few immediate synergies to pull out of a take-over, Corinne Cunningham, analyst at Standard and Poor's told BBC News Online.

And because Equitable Life enjoyed such nationwide success, it was already enjoying the advantages that economies of scale normally brings to an industry consolidation.

Worthless brand

Now, the length and the depth of the scandal has left the once revered brand name almost worthless.

The mutual has a total of 650,000 policyholders, of which 450,000 hold with-profits policies.

It holds only 90,000 of the UK's total of 450,000 Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR) policyholders.

And it was this small sector of its total portfolio that brought about the downfall of one of the UK's most trusted names in financial services.