A quick glance at the diary shows that four years ago it emerged that HBOS was in takeover talks with Lloyds TSB. 17 September 2008 was a hairy day for trading in HBOS shares, which at one point halved before closing 20% lower.
These were desperate days, barely 48 hours after the collapse of Lehman Brothers but a month before the government's bailout of the soon to be combined Lloyds HBOS (the deal completed in January 2009) and Royal Bank of Scotland.
The share price graph shows that the shares of the enlarged bank would have been trading around 140p four years ago. Now they are trading at closer to 40p – after something of a rally in recent weeks – and below the 73p at which taxpayers bought a 40% stake.
