The market is very good at coming up with bid candidates but is less good at coming up with...why a deal should happen.

191

The results are fine. The issue is they are not telling us anything we don't already know ... we had a share buyback from Royal Bank (RBS.L), we had a cost efficiency program from Lloyds, but nothing new from HBOS.

190

RBS had very strong results and announced a big new buyback, while Lloyds TSB came out with a cost cutting program - HBOS is just in line after those performances, and its stock price has had a very strong run in the last several months.

166

There's a reasonable expectation that at some point there will be further consolidation and Lloyds, of all the high street banks, is probably in the most tricky position in terms of how it's performed and the size of its dividend, and for that reason it's more vulnerable.

150

What would BBVA do with Lloyds? Will it improve the cost/income ratio, which is already very low? There are lots of unanswered questions there.

149