Speculation that Scott's departure was inevitable over recent results.

Yesterday saw Aviva's (LON:AV) announcement that Philip Scott would  step down as executive director and chief financial officer at the end of the year.

The search is now on for the next Finance Director at one of the biggest names in financial services.

Scott was a loyal Aviva employee with a career spanning 36 years with the group.

The Guardian reports this morning that market sources speculated that Scott's departure was a certainty after Aviva showed a full-year MCEV loss after tax of £7.7bn in March, which saw its shares fall 33pc.

However, this was denied by Aviva, which said his departure was amicable, adding that it would continue to use MCEV for its forthcoming results.

Scott will not be receiving compensation for leaving the company.

Aviva shares are up 4% this morning, yesterday's press release on Scott's departure was vague and offered little insight to investors.

Also on the move at Aviva is Aaron Kilberg who has been announced as the new Managing Director of Institutional Sales at Aviva Investors in North America.

Kilberg will be based in New York.