The push for transparency is intensifying as Lloyds faces pressure to reveal the full findings of the HBOS fraud investigation.
- The investigation, started in 2017, scrutinises a major fraud at the HBOS Reading branch that led to jail sentences in 2017.
- Key political figures and business groups are demanding the full release due to concerns over a potential cover-up by Lloyds.
- Critics, including MPs, emphasise the importance of transparent disclosure for accountability.
- Lloyds has yet to confirm if an unredacted version of the report will be made public, amidst growing calls from lobbying groups.
As pressure mounts, Lloyds Bank is urged to fully disclose a significant report detailing the HBOS fraud scandal, raising questions of transparency. The report, which began in 2017 and was initially projected to conclude within months, investigates allegations of a cover-up regarding fraudulent activities at the HBOS Reading branch. This scandal adversely affected small businesses, causing financial ruin and resulting in the imprisonment of six individuals in 2017.
The delay in releasing the full report has caused considerable criticism. Figures like Lord Tyrie, former chairman of the Treasury committee, have voiced that the delay is becoming its own scandal. Lloyds had promised in 2018 to make the review’s findings available, but it remains uncertain if this will include the entire report without redactions. Former Treasury committee chair Baroness Morgan of Cotes expressed her dismay, expecting a complete report instead of mere conclusions.
Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake is among those insisting on full transparency. He has appealed to Lloyds CEO Charlie Nunn to release the full report, stressing its potential to ensure clarity and accountability after one of the most serious banking scandals in recent times. Hollinrake indicated that withholding the full report might have lasting negative effects.
Lobbying groups representing victims, including SME Alliance and Transparency Task Force, have echoed these sentiments, arguing that Lloyds should not influence the publication strategy for a report investigating alleged misconduct by the bank itself. The SME Alliance remarked, “Lloyds should not be allowed to control the publication strategy for a report looking into an alleged cover-up that Lloyds itself perpetrated.”
Further pressure comes from within the bank’s own union. BTU, the largest union for Lloyds staff, has approached Treasury Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier to demand an explanation from key figures involved in the delay. Although Dobbs, a key figure in the process, has expressed support for transparency, the extended timeline of six years has been partly attributed to the unavailability of crucial witnesses.
In response to increasing calls for disclosure, a Lloyds spokesperson reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to sharing the review’s findings but did not confirm the release of an unredacted report. As the review continues, the Treasury committee may face added pressure to enforce the release of the full report, particularly as the demand for accountability and transparency grows.
The ongoing scrutiny over the withheld HBOS fraud report underscores the escalating demand for transparency and accountability from Lloyds.
