HBOS considers Abbey National bid

Abbey National shares made further gains today after it emerged that Halifax and Bank of Scotland group HBOS was thinking over a rival bid for the UK bank.

HBOS said last night it was at the “preliminary stages” of reviewing its position on Abbey, which last week agreed to an £8.2bn (€12.4bn) takeover by Spain’s largest banking group, Banco Santander Central Hispano (BSCH).