Lloyds shareholders to sue bank

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Lloyds shareholders to sue bank

A company is to be set up by angered Lloyds TSB shareholders at 11.45 am on Friday June 5 in Glasgow.

The launch time has been picked specifically to coincide with the AGM of Lloyds Banking Group Ltd, formed after the controversial merger between Lloyds TSB and struggling bank HBOS.

Lloyds Action Now Ltd has been created as a special purpose vehicle dedicated to establishing grounds of action Lloyds TSB shareholders have against directors in both Lloyds TSB (LTSB) and HBOS, and other relevant figures, with a view to taking the case to court.

A number of possible causes for action have been proposed, including the withholding of information by the directors of HBOS, a judicial review of the government’s conduct and negligent misstatement by LTSB directors.

The highly controversial deal only took place due to the Government waiving competition law, and Lloyds TSB admitted at the time it had not had ample time to do proper due diligence.

Subsequently toxic assets of £15.8bn have been discovered in the HBOS books, prompting Lloyds’ shares to nosedive and ultimately leading to the Government owning a majority stake in the combined bank.

The news comes just days after Lloyds Banking Group announced further job losses of 530, following 625 losses in May and 985 in April.