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Commonwealth Bank agrees to buy BankWest

8TH OCT 9.32 AM LIVE

source Australian IT

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Commonwealth Bank set to take over BankWest

8TH OCT 3.49 AM LIVE source Australian IT

Big three to vie for BankWest

OCT 4.17 AM LIVE source News Limited

Lloyds TSB targets ailing HBOS

18TH SEPT 3.49 AM LIVE source Australian IT

HBOS PLC

ALL ORDS | LATEST BANKING NEWS

Banking: Bank of Scotland | Halifax | Intelligent Finance | Birmingham Midshires | Sainsbury's Bank | St. James's Place Bank | BankWest | Banco Halifax Hispania | Bank of Scotland International | Halifax Ireland | Bank of Scotland (Netherlands)

Insurance and Property: esure | First Alternative | Clerical Medical | rightmove.co.uk | The Mortgage Business | Sheilas' Wheels

Annual Group Revenue: £10.2 billion GBP (14.3% FY 2004) | Employees: | Stock Symbol: LSE: HBOS | Website: www.hbosplc.com



Type Public (LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE: HBOS)
Founded 2001
Headquarters Edinburgh, Scotland
Key people Dennis Stevenson, Chairman
Andrew Hornby, CEO
Industry Finance and Insurance
Products Financial Services
Revenue £11,991 million (2006)
Operating income £5,341 million (2006)
Net income £3,939 million (2006)
Employees 72,000
Website www.hbosplc.com

Formation
The Bank of Scotland is the UK's oldest commercial bank, founded by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland in 1695. Halifax was founded in 1853 as the Halifax Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society, which demutualised in 1997 to become a plc.

The merger of the Bank of Scotland and Halifax occurred during a wave of consolidation in the UK banking market which began in the late 1990s. The Bank of Scotland played a key role in the process, firstly by launching a hostile takeover bid for NatWest, although the bid failed to a rival offer from the Royal Bank of Scotland. It later investigated a merger with Abbey National, when Halifax approached with an offer to merge.

The merger created the fifth largest bank in the UK by market capitalisation, although since 2001 the bank has overtaken Lloyds TSB to become fourth largest.

HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006
In 2006, HBOS secured the passing of the HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006, a private Act of Parliament that would allow the group to operate in a more simplified structure. The Act allows HBOS to make the Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland a public limited company, Bank of Scotland plc, which will be the principal banking subsidiary of HBOS. Halifax plc will transfer to Bank of Scotland plc, although the brand name will be retained.

As of 2007, the provisions in the Act have not yet been implemented.

Structure
HBOS has four main subsidiaries:

Halifax plc
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
HBOS Australia
HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Limited

Halifax plc
Halifax is the group’s retail bank division that operates in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Subsidiaries and Brands include:

Banco Halifax Hispania
Bank of Scotland International
Birmingham Midshires
Intelligent Finance
Halifax Financial Services (Holdings) Ltd
Halifax Investment Fund Managers Ltd
Halifax Share Dealing Limited
Halifax Unit Trust Management Ltd
St. James's Place Capital plc (60% ownership)
St James’s Place Bank.

The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland
The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland (trading as the Bank of Scotland) is the group’s main retail bank in Scotland.

Subsidiaries and brands:

Sainsbury's Bank (50%)
Bank of Scotland Corporate
Bank of Scotland Investment Services
Bank of Scotland Private Banking
CAPITAL BANK plc
HBOS Financial Services Ltd
HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Ltd
HBOS Treasury Services plc
Bank of Scotland (Ireland)
Bank of Scotland (Netherlands)
Bank of Wales

HBOS Australia
HBOS Australia was formed in 2004 to consolidate the group’s holdings in Australia. It consists of the following subsidiaries:

HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Limited

HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Limited manages the group’s insurance and investment brands in the UK and Europe. It consists of the following:

esure

esure is an internet and telephone based insurance company based in Reigate, Surrey, England. It also has offices in Manchester and Glasgow. It is a part of the HBOS Group which also includes the Bank of Scotland and the Halifax. esure was founded in 1999 by Peter Wood (not the musician), who also launched the Direct Line insurance company for the Royal Bank of Scotland.

esure is now one of the largest insurance providers in the UK offering car, home and travel insurance, as well as personal loans. The company focuses on lower risk customers, and only takes customers with a current no claims bonus for its car insurance products

First Alternative
Halifax General Insurance Services Ltd
Halifax Insurance Ireland Ltd

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