Osborne hints HBoS could regain autonomy

Published on Sunday 25 October 2009 21:06

THE independence of Scotland's oldest bank could be re-established if the Conservatives come to power in the next election.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne hinted that the Bank of Scotland could rise again under a Tory government as part of plans to dismantle the UK's superbanks.

He said he wanted to see more smaller banks on the high street to increase competition and give customers a better deal.

Mr Osborne, who hinted in April that he wanted to examine the takeover of HBoS by Lloyds TSB, said he was looking at both Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland as part of a strategic review of the troubled sector.

In an interview this weekend he said: "The Scottish banking sector has not benefited, as we can see now, from all that over-consolidation and mergers. The Bank of Scotland is perhaps the most obvious example of that.

"When we come to sell the big government stakes, we need to look at making sure we have a larger number of smaller banks."