Troubled life assurer Equitable Life is unlikely to re-open for new business, its chief executive has told the BBC.

Charles Thomson said wider economic worries made any re-opening "extremely unlikely and many years off".

Equitable has been closed to new business since 8 December 2000 after it failed to find a buyer.

Mr Thomson also dismissed calls to wind-up the life assurer, and said it would not be in the interests of policyholders.

Many years off

The life assurer has been in difficulties since 1999, because it could no longer meet its full financial obligations to its customers.

By closing to new business in December 2000 it effectively cut off any chance of regaining its full financial strength.

Mr Thomson told the BBC he had high hopes last year after the compromise deal aimed at rescuing the society had been agreed.

But these hopes had been dashed by the poor economic environment.

Mr Thomson said: "I'm disappointed because a year ago I would have said yes, I believed it was possible with a fair economic wind and with the compromise scheme, which we got through last February.

"I have to say given what's happened in the economy since then, I now have to regard it as extremely unlikely and many years off."

No wind-up

Mr Thomson also rejected suggestions he should wind-up the firm.

"Winding the business is not actually something that is easy to do. It has major disadvantages to policyholders, so we don't see it as being in their interests.

"What we are trying to do as a new board is to make sure that we meet policyholders interests as well as we can."

In November the Financial Services Authority expressed its support for this position.

Winding-up, the FSA said, in a consumer guidance notice, "would not be in the best interests of policyholders".