The bank is to introduce a review of business customers who were victims of fraud perpetrated by former HBOS employees to determine whether to pay out compensation.
In order to do that, Lloyds is appointing a third-party consultancy to assess the complaints of small businesses affected by the fraudulent actions of two ex-HBOS employees and four financiers who loaded big amounts of debt and high fees on to small businesses, according to Financial Times.
Although the fraud took place between 2003 and 2007, therefore before Lloyds acquired HBOS in 2008, the bank is coming under mounting pressure from politicians for reacting slowly to customer complaints that surfaced at the time, the online publication continues.
Still, Lloyds said it would contact all those customers they have identified as “potentially affected by the criminal activities” and the conclusion of the review, which is expected to take up to six months, could lead to Lloyds paying out compensation. Lloyds is in talks with the Financial Conduct Authority about the selection of an independent consultancy.
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