Wednesday’s edition of City A.M. saw columnist Victoria Bates direct readers’ attention to Andrew Davidson’s new book ‘1,000 CEOs‘.
As she points out Lloyds CEO Eric Daniels’ entry stands out — for all the wrong reasons.
Lloyds posted a £4bn first-half loss this week and the group’s shares have been down over 75 per cent since Daniels took over in 2003, but you’d never know it from what author Davidson gushes:
[Daniels] careful stance helped Lloyds TSB avoid the worst consequences of the sub-prime fallout and to position itself to swallow rival HBOS during the 2008 financial hurricane
Other choice expressions include references to “weathering the financial storm”, “expanding when others were failing” and something about “a position of relative strength”.
Ha!
Given that Lloyds reported an £11bn loss at HBOS six whole months ago, and the book was published this week, you’d think someone might have thought to update it?
Related links:
Market welcomes Lloyds sign that worst is now over – FT
Boost for Lloyds as bad debts hit peak – FT Alphaville
Lloyds hit by £10bn HBOS losses – FT