HBOS

The Bank of Scotland is the UK’s oldest commercial bank and was formed in 1695 by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland. The Halifax Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society was founded in 1853 becoming Halifax PLC in 1997.

In 2001 these two plc merged to form the Halifax Bank of Scotland which is shortened to HBOS and became the UK’s 5th largest bank.

After the upheaval of the banking world in September 2008 causing the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other financial institution falling into major problems, Lloyds TSB placed an offer to buy HBOS. Though HBOS want to sell, it will be down to the government to make the final decision as the merger will create a monster of a company which could hurt other banks and create problems further down the line.

More on whether Lloyds TSB merge with HBOS will be updated here in the next few days.