MLC, the wealth management division of National Australia Bank, is cutting 120 jobs from its Melbourne and Sydney operations, according to Australian daily The Age.

The move follows the decision by ANZ and Macquarie Bank to each cut hundreds of jobs in December. Analysts expect as many as 10,000 big bank jobs to go in the next year or so.

A spokeswoman confirmed the cuts, saying they had followed a review and were due to the market downturn which has hit the financial sector.

She said where possible the bank would look to re-employ staff elsewhere in the company.

"We are in a consultation period so the consultation period won't be finalised for another week or so but what we did announce is a proposal where 120 people will be impacted," the spokeswoman was quoted as saying.

"Obviously it is in light of the market downturn and the resourcing requirements that need to be reviewed in light of it...we need to operate as efficiently as possible in this environment."

She could not specify from which bank branches the jobs will be lost.

The merger of Westpac and St George is also likely to lead to thousands of job cuts in the Australian financial sector, while ANZ also has plans, revealed in The Age last month, to send 620 jobs offshore.

MLC manages more than AU$102 billion ($67.6 billion) on behalf of individual investors and corporate customers in Australia (as at March 2008).