Commenting in the wake of Lloyds TSB’s takeover of HBOS, Stephen Boyd, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) Assistant Secretary said:
“Scotland’s First Minister was correct to attack the ‘spivs and speculators’ who targeted HBOS and undoubtedly accelerated the steep drop in its share price. However, HBOS Executives are hardly blameless. It wasn’t the spivs who left the Bank over exposed to commercial property and sub-prime debt or too reliant on the wholesale markets.
“Once again it is the ordinary worker who is left to carry the can. As the great unravelling of financial markets continues, staff facing sudden and harsh redundancy will rightly be appalled as they witness the ‘masters of the universe’ easing into gold plated retirement.
“We urgently require a fundamental reappraisal of both the regulation of financial services and the place of financial services within the wider economy”.
ENDS
For further information contact
Stephen Boyd t0141 337 8100