Mr Michael Cherkasky, the newly installed chief executive of Marsh & McLennan, moved yesterday to appease regulators and jittery investors with a number of sweeping reforms to the company's business practices.

Marsh, the group's insurance broking subsidiary, will stop accepting bonuses from insurers for selling high volumes of more profitable products.

The company would also disclose all fees that it charged clients and accepted from insurers, Mr Cherkasky said. A new compliance division will be formed to supervise brokers.

Its Irish operation, Marsh Ireland - one of the State's biggest brokers - will adopt the measures, a spokesman confirmed yesterday. "This is a global statement and it applies to Ireland as much as anywhere else," he said.

The move will mean that from the beginning of next year, its offices in the Republic will not be allowed to accept contingent commissions - paid for by the sale of high volumes of expensive products - from insurers and will have to disclose all payments from insurers to clients.

The company did not say how much of the €300 million a year it makes in the Republic came from contingent payments. Last week, it emerged that Marsh Ireland will have to re-state its own accounts to cover a €6.7 million overstatement.

The global measures came in response to the civil lawsuit filed 13 days ago by Mr Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, alleging that Marsh rigged bids on contracts and favoured insurers at the expense of clients.

Investors were relieved by Mr Spitzer's announcement that, because of the rapid changes agreed by Mr Cherkasky, he would not launch a criminal prosecution against the company.