LTSB must abandon not renegotiate this reckless bid.
Why a solid, steady bank should want to join the lemmings baffles me.
Empire building.?
Would any shareholder be so foolish to vote for such a daft proposal?
The Board seem to have had a bout of collective insanity and should go now.

BD , London,

I never use those credit card cheques. I immediately shred them they are for suckers

peter c, Devizes, Wessex

The current share price of HBOS @ 89p down over 28% suggests the deal has had a massive no from the city. Similarly with Lloyds down.

Truth is less than 0.06% HBOS shares traded so far. SETS system not representative. What about the other 99.4% holding of shareholders who are not selling?

Harry H, London, UK

I have to echo Simon Bee's confusion. Lloyds were put forward as a very safe haven for personal funds so why all of a sudden do they need Government money when many other banks appear not to need it? Could it be that Lloyds were never as strong as was being suggested?

Tony Fox, Bingham, Notts

Under the new merger terms, no cash dividends would be payable so the previous attraction of Lloyds TSB shares will be gone. Presumably investors will jump ship asap., which gives the government the opportunity to pour more money into nationalisation.

Michael Rich, Chislehurst, UK

On the contrary, HBoS is a very attractive deal at the current price, the non-mortgage businesses are strong and the brand very strong. I'm tempted to buy HBoS shares as they are currently 20p under the revised merger price.

Graham, Driffield, UK

Both banks in serious trouble and being helped by the (Scottish run) British government are both Scottish banks employing Scottish people. Another strange coincidence, but frankly I think Lloyds TSB would be better off without Scottish banking history weighing her down.

Sue Doughty, Twyford, UK

medium/long term the merger between HBOS and Lloyds will still be a good deal , Dominance of the high street has got to be worth a premium.

trev, beaulieu sur dordogne, france

In the mail I've just received a cheque book for my Halifax credit card account which already has a considerable balance on it. If I write one these cheques the APR I'll be paying will be 27.9%. Isn't this a another example of irresponsible lending? My sympathy for their predicament is wearing thin

Andy, Rossendale, UK

Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS was last week spun as a Gordon Brown's successful initiative. Are the Labour spinners still claiming credit for this one or are we to forget another sorry mess by our superman PM has made?

raj, harrow, uk

Prime Ministrer Gordon Brown has recently stated that the £12bn Lloyds TSB / HBOS deal will go through. If it were to flounder then it would damage his political standing.

John B, Kennington, UK

Given that the government is already having to pump billions into HBOS and is already nationalising most of it, why doesn't it go all the way and pull the plug on the Lloyds deal with all of its implications for competition? Lloyds could then raise whatever capital it needs from the markets.

Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK

Move to Cyprus, seems stable here right now! Due to a xenophobic society maybe it has paid off this time. My shares in Lloyds have gone by about one third over the past few weeks! All boils down to the usual greed at the top and the little people always suffer and PAY!! That's why I left.

Janet Gosling, Larnaca, Cyprus

Champion chancellor, perfect PM, now brilliant broker, too, eh? Lloyds was arguably the strongest and most stable UK bank... let's watch it now!

*BoE blocks LTSB bid for NRock
*Brown buys NRock
*Brown brokers LTSB bid for HBOS
*Brown buys 40% HBOS
*LTSB asks for £5bn
*LTSB... (SELL!!!)...

Gordian Brain, Chippenham,

Small shareholders held Lloyds shares because the bank leant cash wisely paid a dividend.

Now the directors of Lloyds act as servents to government, HBOS & HBOS's shareholders, whilst loyal Lloyds shareholders stand to lose dividends and 15-25% of the profit per share that they had originally.

John, Toddington, UK

Every day I cannot wait to read in the Times what is planned for the coming day/week by the Government and the BoE-Euro Bank World Bank-certainly is interesting -
by the way fish went up locally here - and no drop in petrol prices.Time for you mugs to get out of the UK !!

Keith Skelton , Colombo , Sri Lanka

I am confused. At one stage (before the mad HBOS punt) Lloyds was there with HSBC as a solid sensible institution (all its eggs in the UK basket, but no US sub-prime exposure). So why do they need new capital, if (a) HBOS is being recapitalised separately and/or (b) the deal will abort? Help!?

Simon Bee, Wokingham, UK

didnt Times here reported the SCOTTISH people wants to own HBOS and they werent happy about Lloyds having HBOS on the cheap ?? where are they now?
KC

kenny chung, norwich, norfolk

The current HBOS share price, far from the takeover exchange ratio already discounts the proposal as likely to fall away in its current terms. Given the equity infusion negotiated with the government there is no need to push for a merger that would not have solved the fundamental issues.

PMOSH, London, UK

Why not let HBOS shares find their vakue in the market and then allow Lloyds TSB to purchase it at market value.

Hamad Lone, London, England

I feel this week, we are going to see HBOS going down the memory lane, HBOS is not at all attractive deal for any bank, so I dont see any reason why loyds would be interested in it ! lets this how this weeek goes by !

Anuj, Surrey, United Kingdom