Turner eyes power to block hostile bank takeovers

Laura Miller
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FSA chairman Adair Turner may ask the government for the power to block hostile buyouts in the banking sector in a bid to prevent aggressive acquisitions from disrupting financial stability.

He told a newswire "aggressive, contested" takeovers do not allow for as much due diligence as agreed takeovers. This may be a reasonable risk in the non-banking sector but not in the financial sector, he said. "Whereas you can see the primary responsibility of the board of directors of a non-banking company being to maximize shareholder value and to take risks, the fact is that for banks the downside to a society of getting it wrong is a hugely important factor," Turner said last night. Following public pressure, the FSA will publish a synthesis report by April on its investigatio...

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