HBOS's £130m for endowment victims

The HBOS banking group, owner of Halifax and Bank of Scotland, announced today that it had set aside £130m to compensate 'valid' victims of its endowment mis-selling.

However, the company promptly said the money would not speed up the claims process or increase the chances of success.

A spokesman said: 'It doesn't have any impact on anyone out there at all. It's a financial thing for the company, to allow us to set money aside.'

He added that anyone who believes they have a complaint should follow the existing procedure of writing to the company first. 'Put the case to us and we will investigate it,' he said.

Earlier today, the company reported pre-tax profits for 2004 were £4.77bn. In a statement to the stock market, the company said: 'Industry-wide, last year saw a significant increase in the volume of mortgage endowment complaints as the media, the Financial Services Authority and companies themselves were more successful in encouraging customers to come forward.

'As a consequence we have set aside an exceptional amount of £130m to provide compensation for customers with a valid complaint.'

Hundreds of thousands of endowments were sold through Halifax branches in the late Eighties, mostly from insurers Standard life and Friends Provident.

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Mar 2, 2005
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