Lloyds Banking Group has promised to provide “fair, swift and appropriate” compensation to the victims of the Halifax Bank of Scotland fraud case.
The company announced it had set aside £100m for compensation as the Financial Conduct Authority resumed its investigation following the trial.
A police investigation into activity in the Reading-based impaired assets division ended with six people being jailed for a total of 47 years and nine months.
After a trial at Southwark Crown Court earlier this year, five people were found guilty of corruption, fraudulent trading and money-laundering offences.
Lloyds Banking Group chief executive António Horta-Osório said: “As I have stated before, we would like to express our deep regret and apologies to any customers directly affected by the criminal behaviour of these individuals.
“We are absolutely determined that victims of the crimes committed at HBoS Reading are fairly, swiftly and appropriately compensated.
“We take responsibility for putting right the wrongs that were committed at HBoS Reading at the time.”
Among those jailed following the investigation was Lynden Scourfield, 54, lead director of HBoS’s impaired-assets division, who was sent to prison for 11 years after agreeing £245m in loans that could never be repaid in order to pay for his lavish lifestyle.
He headed a division at HBoS that dealt with small companies in financial distress and lent eye-watering sums of cash to the failing businesses as his friend David Mills, 60, and his associates charged exorbitant fees for “consultancy services” and ran the companies into the ground.
Mills was also sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Lloyds has also said it will appoint a senior independent lawyer to consider whether the issues relating to HBoS Reading were investigated and appropriately reported to authorities at the time.
Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury select committee, said: “These announcements are welcome. The public deserves to know the full truth about this and other HBoS failures.
“The Treasury select committee will persist. That this is taking so long is regrettable, but understandable.”
damian.fantato@ft.com
