Peter Cummings Wasn't a Rogue Operator at HBOS - What About the Other Directors ?

Peter Cummings, recipient of a £500,000 fine and a lifetime ban, overdoes his anger. It's a bit rich to complain of suffering an Orwellian nightmare at the hands of the Financial Services Authority if you decline to have your arguments heard by an independent appeals tribunal. Yes, pursuing such cases can be stressful and costly - but the failure of HBOS caused a lot of strain, not least on the public purse.

Cummings is on stronger ground when he says it "defies comprehension" that he is the only individual from HBOS to face investigation.

The FSA's final notice paints a damning portrait of the conduct of Cummings' corporate banking unit — too much optimistic lending, too many personal incentives to lend and too little attention to risk. But Cummings was not a rogue operator, notwithstanding HBOS's federated structure.

It is clear from the FSA's document that the board gave its blessing to the aggressive growth strategy, to the point of hoping in 2007 that the corporate division could rescue the group from the plunge in profits on the retail side. Yet chief executive Andy Hornby and chairman Lord Stevenson didn't even receive a name-check in a 90-page decision notice.

The FSA promises its full report into the failure of HBOS itself will be published by next summer. Its first task should be to explain why the other directors are off the hook.

This article was written by Nils Pratley, for guardian.co.uk on Thursday 13th September 2012 11.13 Europe/London