Lloyds TSB/HBOS to close C&G

Well the banking crisis rumbles on with the news that the entire Cheltenham & Gloucester branch network is to close by November, as Lloyds Banking Group cuts another 1,660 jobs after the merger with HBOS.

The bank, which yesterday began repaying its multibillion-pound loan from the taxpayer, confirmed this lunchtime that all 164 C&G branches will shut within five months. This will mean about 1,000 employees will lose their jobs.

This from the Treasury report on the banking crisis and the merger between Lloyds/Hbos.

"The merger between Lloyds and HBOS has been described in some quarters as a ‘shotgun wedding’. Lloyds Group Chief Executive Eric Daniels conceded that the merger proceeded swiftly on the basis of relatively little due diligence and that the Government was involved to the extent that it offered to waive the competition rules. We also note that the merger may have prevented the collapse of HBOS with the consequent loss of many thousands of jobs and also avoided the outright nationalisation of the company.

Nevertheless, from the evidence we received, if the merger has had injurious consequences for Lloyds TSB we consider that the responsibility for this lies primarily with the Lloyds Board."

Lloyds a bank which under the stewardship of Eric Daniels saw the share price nosedive from a high of £1042.73 in Sept 1999 to of Feb 14th 2008, when it hit 61.4p.

All of which happened on Eric's watch, a chap who could have been a kamazazi pilot in a past life.

But that's not all is it Eric, whilst on your watch Lloyds was given a slap across the wrist for sanctions busting.

Details of the illicit transfers came to light on Friday when New York State and federal authorities announced that a large British bank had agreed to pay $350 million to settle accusations that it hadhelped the Iranian banks hide the transactions.

Lloyds ever the one to help out also offered its kindly help to The Sudan, famous for genocide and that bastion of liberalism and tolerance Libya.

A bit of helping out on the jihad er journey. Tsk, don't worry about those laws.

But your happy to lend, just not to pubs

Or maybe the attempts to flog credit cards to kiddies.

Oh and I have a very low opinion of the directors of Lloyds Tsb(a very sweary post).

Mind they are overseen by the piss poor FSA an organisation that as I stated before is incapable of regulating a bowel movement in a toilet.

Now the banks engaged in lots of dubious bundling up of loans, extended their credit to nations/companies and individuals who not a bent copper coin to their name, whilst playing along with government fantasy economics that we can have a debt fueled boom with no bust.

Think of that as you will, but Eric has escaped for some unknown reason the ire of even the respected financial papers!? Quite how I do not know, sure they were all obsessed to a degree with Sir Fred and a few others.

Whilst Eric stays at the helm of Lloyds, this bank will not recover to its former levels.

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