LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's markets watchdog has combined two investigations into alleged misconduct at Lloyds Banking Group's (L:LLOY) HBOS subsidiary, aiming to deal with "challenging legacy" issues from the financial crisis.
Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, told the watchdog's annual meeting on Tuesday that two HBOS investigations had been merged.
The first, set out in January 2016, stems from a report that found that senior managers were responsible for the bank's collapse in the 2007-09 financial crisis.
The second relates to events surrounding the discovery of misconduct within the Reading-based Impaired Assets team of HBOS, which dealt with companies in financial distress. The FCA investigation had been placed on hold in early 2013 pending the outcome of a criminal inquiry but was reopened in April.
"We are ... joining it with the investigation that we announced in January last year," Bailey said on Tuesday.
