The performance of Britain's venerable Jaguar car brand is under intense scrutiny following an apparent decision by its parent company, Ford, to carry out a strategic review of underperforming assets.

According to reports in America yesterday, Ford has appointed a former investment banker, Kenneth Leet, to lead a small team examining options for a radical restructuring.

Insiders suggested an announcement was likely to be made soon, though a spokesman at Ford's Detroit headquarters would only say: "We have nothing to announce at this time."

Jaguar has been a thorn in Ford's side since the American carmaker bought it for £1.6bn in 1989. The luxury marque has been consistently loss-making, running up a total deficit of £1.2bn over its first 15 years under US ownership.

Ford's chairman, William Clay Ford, has consistently said that Jaguar is not for sale. But he is under pressure to accelerate a turnaround of the group after Ford lost $123m in the second quarter. Like its rival General Motors, the company is struggling against strong competition from foreign carmakers in the US market.

Mr Leet is a respected Wall Street figure who has held senior positions at investment bank Goldman Sachs and the Bank of America. He was nominated by President Bush to serve as a Treasury undersecretary in 2003, though he dropped out for health reasons.

According to one report, Mr Leet has been brought in by two fellow Goldman Sachs alumni on Ford's board, Robert Rubin and John Thornton.

There was speculation yesterday over possible buyers for Jaguar. BMW said it had no interest but one analyst suggested possible bidders could include the Russian billionaire Nikolai Smolensky, who bought TVR sports cars two years ago.

Jaguar is part of Ford's premier automotive group which also includes Land Rover, Aston Martin and Volvo. In 2004 the company announced a turnaround plan which included 1,000 job cuts when production was moved out of its Browns Lane plant in Coventry.