Published: Thursday, 18th December, 2008 8:30am

Government played its part in bank's fate

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SO, Gordon Brown"s UK Government has finally got its way. The Bank of Scotland is now to be fully absorbed into the larger Lloyds TSB Group.

Let"s face it, the Bank of Scotland shareholders had little choice. Alastair Darling and Lord Mandelson had it made a condition of the 'rescue package' (using our money) that this takeover deal go through. Competition rules and concerns about the huge monopoly bank that will emerge were put aside as part of Gordon Brown"s plan for 'saving the world' (his words).

This all fits in well with Gordon Brown"s view of the world as seen from London. It matters not that Scotland has now lost its oldest bank, all the headquarters functions based in and around Edinburgh and, of course, the many thousands of job losses that will inevitably flow from this deal.

No-one should be under any illusion as redundancies now take place and bank branches close throughout Fife. This is all of Gordon Brown"s making. The new mega-bank will be headquartered in London. Both banks could have been helped separately but this did not sit well with his desire to centralise, reduce competition and, of course, remove one other independent Scottish institution.

And this has all happened due to the huge credit crunch and lack of banking and investment regulation created under this Labour Westminster Government. A great number of 'spivs and speculators' have profited greatly throughout this period. It cannot all be blamed on the US sub-prime mortgage market and the excesses indulged in over there. Gordon Brown and his Labour Government actively played their part with their adulation of the City of London and their insistence that this was 'wealth creation' It was not. It was the financial ripping off from real businesses and people in the true industrial and commercial economy.

Steve Hossack,

14 The Latch, Cairneyhill