Secretary of State for Scotland

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HBOS independence campaigner admits defeat

The financier who tried to broker an alternative bid for HBOS said yesterday he had given up hope of scuppering the bank's takeover by Lloyds TSB.Jim Spowart said he had received no political support for his plans, which involved bringing in another bidder in an attempt to save jobs he believes will go after the takeover.After speaking to the Scottish minister, Jim Murphy, about his plans and being told there would be an "even playing field", Spowart said he had not heard back from the government.Although he would not discuss the identity of his partners, it was reported last week that he had been talking to Bank of China."What I was trying to do was find an alternative. We have been actually discouraged," Spowart said. "I've had no contact from the secretary of state for Scotland, nor from MSPs or MPs - doesn't that speak volumes?"I don't think they want to pursue [my] bid. That's my own view. I tried my best but it's time to move on."He said he thought 40,000 jobs could be lost in the tie-up between HBOS and Lloyds, which has been sanctioned by the government despite potentially breaching competition laws.Spowart, a former Halifax executive who left when it merged with Bank of Scotland to form HBOS, criticised the government for failing to investigate an alternative to the Lloyds takeover."Political posturing should not stand in the way of the opportunity to save jobs. The stakes are too high to too many people. It has become extremely political."Where the axe will fall I don't know, but politicians are putting their egos and agenda before the people they purport to represent." Spowart, who founded Intelligent Finance and Standard Life Bank, said he backed former bank chiefs Sir Peter Burt and Sir George Mathewson in their attempt to keep HBOS independent, although he is not working with them.Burt, a former Bank of Scotland chief executive, and Mathewson, a former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive, are urging shareholders to install them as chairman and chief executive to block Lloyds' bid.Last week HBOS chairman Lord Stevenson wrote to shareholders warning that the company may have to be fully nationalised if they rejected the Lloyds deal at a meeting on December 12. He said that if HBOS decided to go it alone it was likely to need more than the £11.5bn promised by the Treasury.Under the government's planned bailout of the banking sector, it intends to put a total of £17bn into HBOS and Lloyds TSB, potentially leaving it with a stake of more than 40% in the merged bank.Lloyds' takeover was hurriedly agreed in September after the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers. If the deal goes through, it will create a group with about 145,000 staff and 3,000 branches across the UK.HBOSLloyds TSBUK banking sectorMergers and acquisitionsBanks and building societiesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds