Abbey National, which has its northern headquarters in Bradford, is to axe 650 jobs by closing its car finance business. Two thirds of the staff at First National Motor Finance, in Surrey, will lose their jobs by the end of the year. It said it would close FNMF to new business as soon as possible. Abbey National's chief operating officer Stephen Hester said: "We would clearly have preferred to find a future for the business that would have offered security for our staff, but sadly that has not proved possible."