Shares in the Pru dipped this morning following reports that the UK insurer may hang on to its 79 per cent stake in Egg after all.

Eighteen months after the Prudential slapped a "for sale" sign outside the offices of its online bank it has still failed to find a buyer.

During that time the world and his dog have been tipped as potential bidders for the business. As recently as last June US credit card giant MBNA was fingered as the latest in a line of bidders prepared to buy the business.

However, MBNA's reported £900m bid came to nothing.

Anyhow, it seems the Pru has had a change of heart with the FT reporting that boss Mark Tucker wants to hang on its majority stake in the business.

In fact, he wants the Pru to "take a more active interest in the running of the online bank", reported the financial paper.

By late morning shares in the Pru were down 2.65p at 494.35p. ®