Rivals may fear joint Widows/Clerical firm - Rathbones

Chillingworth estimates the joint firm formed by the Lloyds TSB and HBOS merger would hold as much as a 17% share of the UK insurance market. “It will be interesting to see what they do with the businesses, because there is a lot of overlap between the two,” he says. “But they will have a strong presence in the market and it will make companies like Legal & General and Friends Provident stand up and take notice.” While the Lloyds takeover is likely to bypass Government competition laws on a “national interest” clause, Chillingworth can envisage a time when the authorities regret the d...