DTI halts Abbey - Lloyds deal due to bank account monopoly threat

The threat of Lloyds TSB cornering the market for personal current accounts was the dominant factor that persuaded the Department of Trade and Industry to block the bank's proposed merger with the Abbey National. Referring to the recommendations of the Competition Commission the secretary of state for trade and industry Patricia Hewitt said the merger would be against the public interest and should not go ahead. "This is because it would reduce competition in the markets for personal current accounts and banking services for small and medium sized enterprises, with the adverse eff...