MPs and business groups are calling for full transparency from Lloyds regarding the HBOS fraud scandal report.
- Figures like Lord Tyrie criticize the delay, labeling it a ‘scandal’.
- The review investigates Lloyds’ potential cover-up of fraud that harmed small businesses.
- Lloyds had promised transparency in 2018 but has not delivered a full report yet.
- Victims and MPs are united in demanding the release of an unredacted report.
Pressure is increasing on Lloyds Banking Group to release the complete findings of its investigation into the HBOS fraud scandal. Prominent figures including Lord Tyrie, the former chairman of the Treasury committee, have voiced significant criticism. Tyrie highlighted the delay in publishing the report, initiated in 2017, as a ‘scandal’ on its own. The investigation scrutinizes whether Lloyds covered up fraudulent activities at its HBOS Reading branch, which destroyed many small enterprises and saw six individuals imprisoned in 2017.
Lloyds initially pledged in 2018 to disclose the review findings. However, it remains uncertain whether this will entail the full report. Baroness Morgan of Cotes expressed her frustration by emphasizing her expectation for an unredacted report, not just a summary of conclusions. Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake also demanded transparency, imploring Lloyds’ CEO Charlie Nunn to release the full report. In his letter, Hollinrake stated, “This report was commissioned to bring clarity, transparency and accountability following one of the most significant banking scandals in recent memory.”
Lobbying groups such as SME Alliance and Transparency Task Force, which advocate for the fraud’s victims, also voiced dissatisfaction. They criticized Lloyds for potentially controlling the publication of a report that examines alleged misconduct by the bank itself. SME Alliance declared, “Lloyds should not be allowed to control the publication strategy for a report looking into an alleged cover-up that Lloyds itself perpetrated.”
Lord Tyrie suggested that Parliament could reassert its commitment to transparency by compelling testimonies from key witnesses or exerting more pressure if cooperation doesn’t occur. The largest independent union for Lloyds staff, BTU, supported these sentiments by urging Treasury Committee Chair Dame Meg Hillier to schedule an appearance by Dobbs, a proponent of transparency, before MPs to explain the prolonged delay in the report’s release.
In response, Lloyds reiterated its commitment to releasing the review’s conclusions but did not confirm whether the entire report would be published. With the report still pending, both members of parliament and advocacy groups are urgently seeking accountability and transparency, pressing for justice on behalf of all affected parties.
Calls for transparency and accountability continue as pressure mounts on Lloyds to release the full report on the HBOS fraud scandal.
