By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - The banker tasked with selling Britain's stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group quit on Thursday, throwing into question the government's aim to start offloading the shares before 2015. Jim O'Neil is leaving after three years at UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which was set up to manage and eventually sell the bank stakes after Britain pumped 66 billion pounds into both lenders to keep them afloat during the 2008 financial crisis.

The largest Nordic bank, Nordea, on Wednesday posted rising quarterly profit amid falling loan losses that helped it shrug off the effects of lower interest rates and sluggish demand for corporate credit. Net profit in the January to March period edged up two percent to 794 million euros ($1.03 billion), beating a 753 euro consensus by analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. But shares in the financial heavyweight fell as investors worried over the bank's capitalisation.

British bank Barclays, seeking to fix its battered reputation caused by last year's Libor rate-rigging scandal, said Wednesday that it returned to profit in the first quarter with net earnings of £839 million ($1.28 billion, 983 million euros) after a loss in the first three months of 2012. Barclays recorded a profit after tax following a net loss of £598 million in the first quarter of last year, the bank said in an earnings statement.

By Martin de Sa'Pinto ZURICH (Reuters) - At least ten new hedge funds are set to launch in Switzerland this year, after none in 2012, in a boost to the country's $24 billion (15.73 billion pounds) industry, sources familiar with the plans said. Fund managers had feared tighter legislation passed this year would damage the hedge fund sector in Switzerland, but the new rules have in fact attracted institutions previously unable to invest in such funds by giving them more protection.