The former chiefs and regulators of HBOS are set to face fresh controversy on Thursday when regulators publish a report into the near-collapse of the bank.
The study is poised to focus on why the Bank of England had to prop up HBOS to stop it running out of cash before the former Lloyds TSB (LON:LLOY) bought it in 2008.
Areas of focus will include the HBOS loan book in 2008 and why Bank of Scotland continued to increase its lending even while UK economic prospects were worsening. Accountants warned it to set aside more money to cover rising bad debts.
One former HBOS executive, Peter Cummings, received a ban from working in finance and a £500,000 fine after a formal investigation.
Former chief executives James Crosby and Andy Hornby and chairman Lord Stevenson have not been fined but have faced accusations from lawmakers that they failed to manage the bank properly.
Hornby is now chief operating officer of Gala Coral, which is merging with rival bookmaker Ladbrokes (LON:LAD). Gala Coral is expected to back him when the report is published, the Guardian reported.
HBOS was formed from the merger between Halifax and Bank of Scotland in 2001. It agreed to a rescue takeover by Lloyds TSB in 2008, but the taxpayer bailed out the enlarged bank shortly after to the tune of £20bn.
Cummings waived a £1.3mln bonus and accused regulators of being unfair by taking action against him alone.
The report is also expected to look at the performance of the regulator at the time, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which has since been replaced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
The two regulators are publishing the report, which will focus on the period between January 2005 and October 2008, two years later than planned.