Speculation that Scottish government behind new HBOS offer
There is growing speculation that the Scottish government is behind the move to replace the top management at HBOS and attempt to keep the company independent. This has the potential to put the UK government and the Scottish government on a collision course over the future of the HBOS operation. At stake are 20,000 jobs in Scotland, which in the current economic environment are vital to the Scottish economy.
There has been speculation for some time about a possible alternative offer or some kind of blocking manoeuvre for the HBOS and Lloyds TSB merger and it has materialised in the form of an offer to replace the top tier of the HBOS group. Whether the UK government would be in favour of a change in management as opposed to a merger with Lloyds TSB remains to be seen.
It is also worth remembering that over £10 billion of taxpayers money is on the line as this was HBOS's potential share of the taxpayer bailout. While there has been no official confirmation from the UK government, sources close to the Scottish government have confirmed that the Treasury has been approached with regards to a potential opening of talks on the matter.
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