ABSTRACT
The HBOS deal brought together some of the UK's best-known financial services brands – including Bank of Scotland, Birmingham Midshires, Clerical Medical, Esure, Halifax and Intelligent Finance – covering retail and commercial banking, insurance and asset management. In finance theory, it is treated like a god to be worshipped, something that is all-knowing competitive and fully transparent. When CEOs have a short-termist orientation, they may not be too concerned about future pressures to sustain dividends. The theory transactionalises the institution, and removes the very idea of culture and ethics, let alone valuing it. The annual reports of HBOS are vast documents, over 100 pages long, sometimes nearing 150, with detailed Board reports, financial statements, and the usual boiler plate audit report, which is one page long but supposed to give independent credibility to the reported performance. In the 2006 annual report, the chairman's report starts with the huge importance of corporate responsibility and how HBOS should respect the various stakeholders.
