More comment on Lloyds bank and Cheltenham and Gloucester
As we covered yesterday, Lloyds bank released a surprising statement confirming that the closure of Cheltenham and Gloucester has been put on hold for the moment while the bank reviews its earlier decision. Surprisingly, Lloyds bank has been unable or unwilling to give a reason for this U-turn and as you might expect the city rumour mill has gone into overdrive. So what exactly is going on?
Without doubt there appears to be some form of political activity in the background, and while many believe the UK government was behind the move, a number now believe it is actually the EU. It looks as though Lloyds bank may well have become caught up in the regulations regarding state funding for private companies which may ultimately save the Cheltenham and Gloucester in the short term. There is even a growing opinion that the operation will be put up for sale rather than closed by the Lloyds bank, although it is unlikely to receive anywhere near the £1.8 billion it cost to acquire.
Who would actually be able to afford the acquisition of Cheltenham and Gloucester, and fund the operation in the short term until markets return to normal, is debatable but one name which has been put forward by many parties is Virgin Money. Richard Branson's financial operation has been chomping at the bit to expand aggressively in the UK and was in fact one of the parties willing to take on Northern Rock when the operation hit trouble.
Share this..
Related stories
General Motors continues to play hardball over European division
General Motors is rumoured to have called upon the governments of Spain, Britain and Poland to inject over $1.4 billion into the group's ailing European division which is dominated by Opel. This is an ongoing issue which had initially been sorted out months ago before General Motors suddenly decided the terms were not favourable and EU governments should be made to inject more capital into the ope...
Read MoreGeorge Osborne announces multibillion pound supertax
George Osborne has today hit the ground running with confirmation that the UK government will put in place a multibillion pound supertax for the UK banking sector. In what has been put forward as "payback time" for funds lent by UK taxpayers to the UK banking industry there will be major changes although how the increased charges will ultimately be funded remains to be seen. While the idea of p...
Read MoreLocal authorities send out 2 million bailiffs
27/08/2015 Local authorities used bailiffs more than 2 million times last year, according to research from the Money Advice Trust (MAT). The administrative bodies for the local government sent out Enforcement Agents to collect debts from 2 million households, which shows a 16% increase over the last two years. They were mainly used to collect Council Tax debts, which are becoming one of the...
Read MoreBarclays Bank warns of soft investment markets
Barclays Bank has today warned that the last two months have been the most difficult since the financial crisis of 2008 with its investment banking division experiencing volatile markets and a significant reduction in the number of corporate finance deals on offer. While this will obviously be a concern to investment banks operating in the UK and in Europe many people will feel it is payback time...
Read MoreLargest climate emission falls in 40 years
While the recession has had an impact on businesses and individuals around the world, a forecast fall of 2.6% in global carbon emissions would appear to be as a direct consequence of the recession. A significant reduction in business levels around the world and less "spending money" for individuals would appear to have led to what many governments were seeking, a marked reduction in damage to the...
Read More