The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has previously stated its intention to produce and publish a report into the causes of the failure of HBOS in 2008, during the financial crisis.
Work on such a report could not commence until the conclusion of connected enforcement proceedings, to avoid the risk of legally prejudicing the outcome of those enforcement actions.
With the publication of the final notice, on 12 September 2012, in respect of enforcement action taken against Peter Cummings, former executive director of HBOS plc and chief executive of its Corporate Division, all current investigations into this matter are now concluded.
This means that the FSA now intends to start work on the HBOS Report and, subject to the legal processes that will need to underpin such a report, would aim to publish it during the remaining lifetime of the FSA, prior to ‘legal cutover’ to the future Financial Conduct Authority.
The purpose of the review will be to:
- explain why HBOS failed and cover the FSA’s supervision of HBOS and explain the focus of the enforcement actions; and
- inform a wider internal and public understanding of the causes of failure during the crisis (to the extent not already covered by the RBS report).
The terms of reference for the Report and details of its governance arrangements will be published shortly.