HBOS pension trustees go to court to block merger
As we covered just a few days ago, the trustees of the HBOS pension scheme have today taken their battle to the courtroom asking a judge to delay the banks merger with Lloyds TSB. They have requested a new valuation of the company's pension scheme amid claims that the deficit has exploded from £95 million to £5 billion. If this is the case it could take some months for both sides to agree a way forward and any additional funding in the future.
While the HBOS pension trustees have an obligation to protect their members there is concern that further delays in the merger could impact upon the companies competitiveness and ability to attract new business. Despite shareholders from both parties voting in favour of the move this has been one of the most protracted mergers in UK history.
If the deal was to fall apart at the 11th hour this could have serious implications not only for HBOS and Lloyds TSB but the UK banking sector as a whole. The government has also been backing the merger all of the way and a failure to conclude the deal at this late stage would be a major embarrassment.
Share this..
Related stories
Could Gordon Brown call a snap election?
While yesterday's announcement that the UK has officially moved out of recession was welcomed across the board, the disappointing growth of 0.1% was far less than analysts expectations of 0.4%. There is also a possibility that the figure could be downgraded in the short term as this initial figure is only the first estimate from the Office for National Statistics. There is growing speculation that...
Read MoreUK trade gap widens in April
The UK trade deficit for April increased from £7.259 billion in March to £7.279 billion in April although the figures were overshadowed somewhat by the volcanic ash saga which grounded planes for over a week. While the figures are slightly disappointing, in that many experts had expected imports to increase, these are probably figures we can discount because of the unknown entity which was the v...
Read MoreScottish & Newcastle deal under scrutiny for alleged insider trading
The FSA (Financial Services Authority) has today confirmed that the 2007 battle for control of Scottish & Newcastle is now the focal point of an ongoing insider dealing investigation. The £7.8 billion joint offer from Carlsberg and Heineken initially emerged at £7.20 a share although this was increased to £8.00 to finally secure the deal. However, it is the fact that the joint offer had to be b...
Read MoreGovernment considering bottle deposit scheme
The UK government is today considering a bottle deposit scheme which would see a small levy place upon bottles sold in the UK which would be repaid to customers when the empty bottles were returned. The Campaign to Protect Rural England is suggesting a 15p deposit for bottles up to half a litre and 30p for others and believes this would mean that 90% of bottles being return. This would then allow...
Read MoreBudget Preview : Income Tax
In the forthcoming coalition government budget we are likely to see a major change in the UK income tax system although it will be staggered over a number of years. It would appear that the Conservative party has compromised in relation to the personal income tax allowance and the long-term aim will be to introduce a Liberal Democrat style target of 000 which would take 3.6 million people out of t...
Read More