Scottish perceptions of HBOS takeover at odds with those of UK government

Published on Sunday 2 November 2008 19:53

The UK Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, fails to appreciate that the "public interest" in Scotland in respect of the Lloyds takeover of HBOS is very different from the London-centric perception of public interest, in so far as it impacts on customers and businesses both large and small (Leader, 1 November).

The UK government has not only ignored the concerns of the Office of Fair Trading and the majority view in the Scottish Parliament, but it now transpires that Gordon Brown took no action when the Financial Services Authority expressed concerns about HBOS liquidity in 2004.

There is huge anger and dismay among thousands of bank customers, employees, pensioners and shareholders in Scotland and what is the point of the Union if, in exchange for using our taxes to help HBOS, Scottish UK Cabinet ministers will not insist on protecting key HQ decision making jobs in Edinburgh, Fife and the Lothians.

ANDREW ROSIE

MacDowall Road

Edinburgh

You have been vigorous in leading the fight to keep HBOS independent but your report (31 October) regarding the proposed new board is a non event is it not? Surely, it is only right that the present board and executive management of HBOS should be dispensed with? After all, they are responsible for the destruction of a 300 year old bank in five years. It is not just Eric Daniels of LloydsTSB who is indifferent to the past is it?

Should HBOS stay independent, who would run it? I don't think that world banking would have much faith in our much-praised Scottish financial acumen, and the markets would have no confidence in the present incumbents. The idea of selling off profitable operations and retreating to core banking is ludicrous. The core bank is bust and the fact that no insider is leaking information to the contrary tells its own story.

Leave it to the shareholders.

IAN LEWIS

Mayfield Terrace

Edinburgh

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, ignoring the warnings of the Office of Fair Trading and the vote of the Scottish Parliament, would appear to be hell-bent on rushing through the Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS. What a surprise.

How pleased they must be at the prospect of severely weakening the strong Scottish financial sector and permanently toppling one of the main historical icons of Scottish nationhood. The resultant economic misery will be a small price for the UK Government to pay for this chance to put a drag on the Scottish independence bandwagon.

Their hope must be that they can spin this sorry episode to the more gullible voters as an instance of London helping out impoverished Scotland and thus postpone for another year or two our inevitable development into maturity and adult membership of the circle of nations.

MARY McCABE

Circus Drive

Glasgow

It is very clear from Peter Mandelson's comments that he has every intention in pushing through the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS despite the reservations raised by the Office of Fair Trading. In fact, to call it a merger is a little misleading as Lloyds seem to have all the control and management in place to ensure that the HBOS identity will be lost in years to come.

Could there be a devious political master-plan at work as part of a hidden agenda driving the takeover to ensure the demise of HBOS and further weaken the support for independence in Scotland? Time will tell.

DENNIS GRATTAN

Mugiemoss Road

Aberdeen