Home News Show us the 'secret dossier' on HBOS takeover, demands Cable

Bookmark, Share News!

Add to: JBookmarks Add to: Facebook Add to: Windows Live Add to: Digg Add to: Del.icoi.us Add to: Reddit Add to: Jumptags Add to: Upchuckr Add to: StumbleUpon Add to: Slashdot Add to: Furl Add to: Yahoo Add to: Blogmarks Add to: Technorati Add to: Newsvine Information

Sign up to the Campaign

We would like you to support our campaign for the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB to be referred to the competition commission and for the Government to create a level playing field by giving the same encouragement to alternative solutions that it has given to Lloyds.  Please click on the link below and complete the form.

SIGN UP

Sign up to SMS alerts

If you would like to be kept informed as the campaign progresses, please text MERGER to 60300 and we will send updates direct to your mobile.

Login

Login below to post comments within the website. If you have not yet registered, please click the SIGN UP link above.



Help our Cause

We need a fighting fund to meet legal and other costs associated with making the appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. If you would like to make a donation, large or small, please click the button below.


The Big Question

Do you think the Merger should be referred to the Competition Commission?
 

Latest Headlines

News

  • 02.03.09

    From MAG NEWS


    Although the Competition Appeals Tribunal ruled against us, the issues raised by our case continue to resonate, particularly given subsequent events and disclosures.

    Read more...
  • 02.03.09

    By Carolyn Churchill

    Read this article on TheHerald.co.uk

     

    The UK Government is coming under increased pressure to publish a "secret dossier" which is alleged to contain information relating to Lloyds TSB's takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland.

    Read more...
  • 02.03.09

    From Editorial Comment

    Read this article on TheHerald.co.uk


    A lack of confidence has undermined the Government's efforts to kickstart the ailing economy and has perhaps manifested itself most corrosively in the failure of the banks to fill the lending void left by the withdrawal of foreign financial institutions.

    Read more...
  • 01.03.09

    From Daily Express Online

    Read this article on Express.co.uk


    The Treasury has been challenged to explain an alleged secret dossier at the heart of the Lloyds takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland.

    The call came from Liberal Democrat deputy leader Vince Cable, who has tabled a parliamentary question asking if the dossier still exists, and if its contents can now be revealed.

    Read more...
  • 28.02.09

    By Tom Peterkin

    Read this article on Scotsman.com


    THE Liberal Democrat deputy leader Vince Cable is demanding the release of a "secret dossier" which the Government used to help push through the controversial Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS.

    Read more...
  • 12.12.08

    By Brian Taylor

    Read the article on BBC.co.uk


    Three hundred years of Scottish financial history brought to a stammering close in a Birmingham convention centre.


    Read more...
  • 12.12.08

    By Jill Treanor

    Read the article on Guardian.co.uk


    HBOS lost a fifth of its value on the stockmarket today, and other bank shares suffered heavy losses, as it revealed it had suffered a dramatic rise in bad debts over recent weeks.


    Read more...
  • 12.12.08

    From DailyRecord.co.uk

    Read the full article


    HBOS SHAREHOLDERS overwhelmingly approved the bank's controversial takeover by rival Lloyds TSB and an £11.5 billion funding boost from the taxpayer.

    Based on votes cast before the meeting, the moves were supported by an 84% majority of individual shareholders, and 98% by the value of shares voted.


    Read more...
  • 11.12.08

    From MAG NEWS


    The Merger Action Group said today [Thurs] it felt it had done all it practically could to highlight the widespread public concern over the Government's decision to waive competition law to push through the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB.

    Read more...
  • 10.12.08

    From MAG NEWS

    The Merger Action Group tonight [Wed] said it was disappointed to lose its legal challenge against the Government’s decision to ignore competition law to push through the Lloyds TSB’s proposed takeover of HBOS.

    Read more...

News

Have you found any news articles on the Merger Action Group, HBOS, Lloyds TSB or anything else to do with the Merger?  Please forward links direct to MAG NEWS for posting in this news section.

All News articles are commentable, please add what your thoughts are on them using the form underneath each article.

Please also click the Bookmarks found on the top right of every page and link MAG articles and the MAG website to Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, Facebook, StumbleUpon and others.  All help to the campaign is greatly appreciated by everyone at MAG.

Show us the 'secret dossier' on HBOS takeover, demands Cable PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 28 February 2009 18:56

By Tom Peterkin

Read this article on Scotsman.com


THE Liberal Democrat deputy leader Vince Cable is demanding the release of a "secret dossier" which the Government used to help push through the controversial Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS.

The confidential Treasury document was submitted in evidence during the legal challenge against Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's decision to waive competition law to allow the takeover to go ahead.

It is thought to set out why Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling claimed the takeover was the only option to sustain financial stability during the height of the banking crisis.

Since then, it has emerged that the Financial Services Authority believed there was a viable alternative which would have seen HBOS retain its independence as a Scottish institution.

Cable, the Lib Dem financial spokesman, has tabled a parliamentary question with the Treasury demanding to know whether the original document still exists and, if so, whether the Chancellor will make it public.

"There appears to be a lot of murky dealings surrounding the Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS, involving the Government and the Lloyds board," said Cable. "It is important, both for taxpayers and shareholders, that we have more transparency about what actually went on. Now that the takeover has gone through and we know the extent of HBOS's losses there would seem to be no longer any need for secrecy."

Cable is also demanding to know what advice Lord Mandelson got from the FSA on the merger and what alternatives were considered.

The dossier was a key feature of the Competition Appeal Tribunal hearing in December, in which business figures unsuccessfully challenged the legality of Mandelson's decision to set aside competition rules, against the advice of the Office of Fair Trading.

The Department of Business confirmed that the dossier still existed – but Government sources indicated it would not be made public if there were issues of commercial confidentiality.

 

Add your comment

By clicking Post and submitting a comment, you agree to the terms and conditions governing submissions to mergeractiongroup.org.uk.

If you wish to report a comment as unsuitable, please click the Report Unsuitable link next to it, and note the comment number and section name in the email header, then send to MAG.

Your name:
Your email:
Subject:
Comment: