Just when Royal Bank of Scotland’s revival was dealt another blow, Lloyds’ halo has slipped considerably.
Up to press, this has been the tale of two taxpayer-backed banks: one, the Treasury darling doing its bit for Britain and plotting a gradual return to the private sector, the other an IT basket case accused of closing down firms for its own ends.
This eye-catching reprimand gives pause for thought. Compared to the way in which Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio blew the whistle over payment protection insurance, it looks as the though the Portuguese and his compadre Juan Colombas, the group’s chief risk officer who followed him over from Santander, were far slower to act on these widespread and unsuitable branch sales.
Nathan Bostock, the banking industry’s man of the moment, could have been heading up Lloyds wholesale division by now. Instead, he is on his way to Santander, which faces sanctions of its own from the watchdog for its own failings in giving financial advice.
The problem came when banks turned advisers into salesmen. If they really want to serve customers better, they should sell less and advise more — but that isn’t always the easiest way to make a profit.
