Lloyds Banking Group has been encouraged to release the full version of a long -awaited assessment to whether it has hidden a £ 1 billion fraud to the reading branch of HBOs.
Dame Meg Hillier, chairman of the Treasury Committee, has called on Lloyds to publish a “complete copy” of the Dame Linda Dobbs Review – an independent investigation in which the behavior of the bank around the HBOS seal fraud is examined – it has been completed . The movement follows widespread fears that Lloyds could only release fragments or “findings” instead of the unprocessed report.
The fraud, discovered in 2007, concerned rogue bankers and consultants who manipulated risky credit schemes at HBOs, who saved Lloyds in 2009. Dozens of small and medium -sized businesses were destroyed by the scheme, resulting in six criminal convictions in 2017. Lloyds has since paid more than £ 1.3 billion in compensation and other charges in connection with the scandal, but critics claim that the bank initially has the The size of the affair tried to bury and did not work with the police in full.
The Dobbs assessment was launched and funded by Lloyds in 2017, it was initially expected that it would be closed within a few months. However, the final report does not end. Lloyds has sworn consistently to release the “findings” of the assessment, but has not unambiguously dedicated itself to publish it in its entirety. Dobbs, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, has said that she intends to prepare the document in a way that makes full publication possible.
The intervention of Hillier was inspired by a letter from Andy Agatangelou, founder of Consumer Group Transparency Task Force, who campaign for openness within financial services. At the Treasury Committee, Agatangelou forced to ensure that the non -addressed report is released and to investigate the causes of the long -term delay.
In her answer, Hillier emphasized that concluding and publishing the assessment was ‘essential’, but emphasized that further committee research could extend the process. She nevertheless made it clear that the expectation of the Treasury Committee is that Lloyds release the full report.
A spokesperson for Lloyds replied: “We are at our commitments to the committee and look forward to working with them”, refuses to clarify whether the full document will be placed in the public domain. Agatangelou welcomed Hillier’s explanation and called it a “clear and unambiguous” signal for Lloyds that only a “complete and non -editor -off copy” would meet the worries of the affected ones.