Lloyds/HBOS Good for Scotland?

[barryhynd]

An interesting article in The Herald regarding the impact of the Lloyds takeover of HBOS on Scotland. There seems to be a growing concern about the number of jobs etc that will go as a result of this and tonight we've also seen talk about another interested party although i'm not sure if that's even a starter.

Oft Fears Lloyds Tsbhbos Deal Could Harm Scots Firms (from The Herald )

So I guess my question is should we as small business owners and consumers be concerned?

[Power Lunch Club]

Of course the whole thing stinks.

After reading about it all over the place and including an article on the BBC that states Jim Spowart was brokering a deal with some Mystery European Financial Services company, that could see jobs remaining in Scotland,

Mandelson et all gave the green light to the merger the day before Jim Spowart told us about the merger....the goverment must have known that Spowart was doing something. So why did they give the green light to the merger?

I suspect because we the Scots have been sabre rattling acrosss the border to Whitehall for a number of years and since we had stepped closer to nationalisation with the SNP now yeilding power they saw this merger as an opportunity to try and keep control of one of Scotland most successful indutries and of course the economy.

Then of course we have the issue that HBOS was failing and would have had to have a recovery package from somewhere....and that was most likely the government. But it would have left control still in Scotland....the government probably didn't want that and that's why the merger got the green light.

Yes jobs will go, competition will decrease it will be a disaster if this merger goes through. Let's see what Jimbo is saying early next week.

I have never been the Nationalist greatest fan believing that an independant Scotland would not be a good thing. But the deeper you read into these thing the more petrol is going to be put on the fire and strong case for nationalisation is growning daily. Something has to be done to keep our assets in Scotland or all we will be left with is oil and whisky (but for how long).

Here sayeth someone who is begining to change his mind about Holyrood.

[promostamper]

sounds dodgey and more like an attempt by girder gordie to show that he is more english than scottish - who knows i suppose he tries

oil i thought that we only produced the oil and it all went down south or exported out?

time we had an independent scottish bank surprised salmond has not been looking into this?

[Moray Kitchen Fitter]

From what I can make of the situtation if the Lloyds takeover goes ahead the majority of job losses will be at a branch level (no need for two branches in every high street!). They are still pushing HBOS at other levels though as with a keen eye on the job pages just now I notice they are still recruiting as Bank of Scotland.

Regards,

Gordon

[anned]

The TSB name will disappear and Bank of Scotland retained for now in Scotland-was always going to be the case -it's a stronger brand.

They are doing the same as they did with TSB -promising to hold AGM's etc in Scotland.But it is Lloyds through and through.
Looks like no other bidders are coming out of the woodwork

Anne

[Adventurelife]

It really does look like that Scotland could end up being massive losers in this. I also get the feeling politics as well as business logic is at play in a big way with this.

As much as I have always admired the financial sector in Scotland and without any doubt it has been good for Scotland being over exposed to one industry is never good.

In reality the ability of Scotland to have huge worldwide companies is probably limited and this is a severe kick to that ambition. The markets are totally unforgiving and we have experienced what they can do in a short time.

Going forward, I would like to see a Scotland made up of thousands and thousands of small/medium sized businesses that can get the funding in order to grow to large businesses but do not feel the need to list on the markets just to get funding.

Without doubt we are going to see many many bank staff from RBS and HBOS lose their jobs over the coming months. I am struggling to see where the employment opportunities are for the numbers likely to be involved and having this many people lose their jobs is not good for anyone living or running a business in Scotland. Sad times indeed.

Peter

[barryhynd]

I see today that two leading figures in the financial services industry have made public their concerns over this merger. Given they are probably two of the biggest hitters in Scotland I wonder if their voice will be heard or this deal will simply still be pushed through.

BBC NEWS | Business | Bank duo oppose Lloyds-HBOS deal