TSB crisis may have sting in the tail
The System's Broken. Try Surrendering Bonuses. TSB customers who found themselves locked out of their accounts for parts of the last fortnight might have devised less polite acronyms for the custodian of their savings.
Conspiracy theorists about recent banking history might also trace the origins of the current meltdown to an ill-fated decision in 2010 by Lloyds Banking Group to place its faith in the Co-operative Group as a buyer of more than 630 branches.
The unravelling of that deal, and the subsequent flotation and sale to Sabadell of TSB were the consequences of a decision not to pursue a takeover by NBNK Investments, the cash shell headed by Lord Levene and former Northern Rock boss Gary Hoffman.
Its impossible to say definitively that TSBs technology crisis would not have occurred under different owners, but supporters of the NBNK proposal argued robustly at the time that it was less complex and risky than the alternatives.
Read more: TSB boss Paul Pester to give up (one) bonus after IT meltdown
There was certainly little of comfort for TSBs current owner, Banco Sabadell, to derive from the evidence given to MPs this week by Richard Meddings and Paul Pester, the UK lenders chairman and chief executive.
Unfortunately for them, their grilling by the Treasury Select Committee came on the same day as the appointments of the panel responsible for distributing funds earmarked for other banks under Royal Bank of Scotlands revised state aid deal.
It already looked impossible for Santander UK to receive part of that money, because of the row about RBSs treatment of small business customers. Deleting a second Spanish-owned UK bank from the list of potential recipients now seems inevitable.
Hornbys near-miss
One Asda alumnus who may be feeling relieved at not having to do battle with Britains prospective new supermarket behemoth is Andy Hornby, the former HBOS chief.
Im told he had a near-miss: Hornby was apparently close to joining Marks & Spencer as the head of its food division a few months ago.
That was shortly before Ladbrokes Coral, where he holds a senior executive role, agreed a takeover by GVC – a deal which has proved lucrative for a large number of Ladbrokes senior managers.
The food unit role eventually went to Stuart Machin, who was plucked from Steinhoff at the instigation of Archie Norman, M&Ss chairman.
Read more: Another Sainsbury's shareholder says Asda deal "makes a lot of sense"
Hornby probably senses that he had a fortunate escape.
While initial reaction to the £13bn merger of Asda and Sainsburys has understandably focused on competition risk, it seems reasonable to assume that the deal will sail through regulatory scrutiny with only minimal intervention.
The incremental benefits of scale in areas such as buying for a grocer with a 30 per cent market share rather than half that are probably overstated.
Nevertheless, its difficult to see an Asda-Sainsburys merger having any other impact on the grocery sector than driving tighter cost discipline – an area where Norman is known to feel that M&S has significant ground to make up.
FAs trophy buyer
Few assets fit into the trophy category as neatly as Wembley Stadium, so its hardly surprising that the Football Association (FA)s prospective decision to sell it has attracted some fervid patriotic opposition.
The governing bodys defence is, though, stronger than that of Gareth Southgates chances of winning this summers World Cup in Russia. £500m for grassroots facilities across the country is an enticing prospect.
Another group might also lay claim to some of the cash, according to Richard Farr, who runs the advisory firm Lincoln Pensions, is the FA pension scheme.
Read more: Wembley: Is the FA's valuation right and do they need to sell?
While the most recent accounts show only a modest pension deficit, he says, the full risk that the scheme is running is estimated at closer to £50m.
“We hope that the trustees will be asking for that amount of money out of the Wembley proceeds,” Farr tells me.
To borrow (inaccurately) from a certain Kenneth Wolstenholme, if they think its all over, it isnt yet.
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