HBOS: Abbey decision ‘in days’
HBOS, which was formed from the merger of former building society Halifax and Bank of Scotland has still to decide whether to challenge Spanish giant Banco Santander Central Hispano's agreed offer for Abbey, which currently values the operation at approaching £9 billion (€13.5 billion).
A decision is thought to be only days away, although weekend reports said HBOS would look to position itself as a powerful rival to Britain's major clearing banks HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds TSB if it did bid.
