It emerged today that “banking’s boy wonder”, failed HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby, is set to receive £2 million worth of Lloyds TSB shares as result of the recent take-over. In spite of the fact that the ill-fated HBOS group skated on the edge of complete collapse whilst under his command, Lloyds TSB are thought to have offered the bungling boss a directorship with the new super-bank, in addition to a juicy portion of the shares.
When Hornby was first employed in 1999 by the Halifax, his background was entirely retail based. He openly admitted “I don’t pretend to know about pricing banking products”.
Despite Hornby’s declaration of ignorance, Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, chairman of HBOS, described him as someone “who really understands banking”, and whilst other analysts questioned the appointment of a non-banker as the head of one of the biggest banking groups in the UK, Lord Stevenson championed youthful sales manager, Hornby. The question is, had HBOS employed someone who really understood banking, rather than a smooth-talking salesman, would they have required rescuing at all?
By Danielle Williams
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