The European Commission has warned Lloyds Banking Group that it may have to split off Halifax as punishment for the billions of pounds of state aid that it has received, the Telegraph Times said. Neelie Kroes, the Competition Commissioner, has yet to make a final decision, but banking sources told the TelegraphTimes is clear that she is planning to impose draconian penalties on Lloyds.The newspaper said: “Ms Kroes is understood to have rejected Lloyds’ attempt to limit the remedial action it must take to selling Cheltenham & Gloucester and making limited disposals in Scotland.”
[The headline and two references in this post have been corrected to show the source of the story was the Times, not the Telegraph - SMI]