BOSI to shut down Halifax bank

[YesSireeeBob]

Halifax set to close after direct orders from UK treasury


the first of many announcements of companies leaving Ireland I presume.

who'll be next?

harvey norman?
Dixons/Currys?

[drbob1972]

Dixons / Currys (one and the same anyways) are very different to Halifax, they are market leaders with very large amounts of the market share, unlike Halifax which didn't make much inroads or gain much market share.

To compare Dixons / Curry's (DSG) to Tescos would be a more accurate comparison

as for Harvey Norman,s apart from the fact they are Australian i know nothing else about them, their radio adverts are so annoying i've yet to enter one of their stores

[YesSireeeBob]

Dixons / Currys (one and the same anyways) are very different to Halifax, they are market leaders with very large amounts of the market share, unlike Halifax which didn't make much inroads or gain much market share.

To compare Dixons / Curry's (DSG) to Tescos would be a more accurate comparison

as for Harvey Norman,s apart from the fact they are Australian i know nothing else about them, their radio adverts are so annoying i've yet to enter one of their stores

i think the recession will have a bigger impact on stores like dixons than Tesco. People will always need food shops but there will be a big impact on electrical retailers as people cut back.

Harvey norman lost 21million ( Pre-tax) in the last 6 months to the end of last December.

[cactusflower]

Bank of Scotland Ireland (BOSI) is preparing to shut down Halifax, its retail arm, beginning in September following explicit instructions from the UK treasury to cease lending in Ireland and repatriate €20bn of its €35bn in Irish assets under the UK government asset protection scheme (GAPS).

The move is the culmination of an extensive strategic review, dubbed Project Primrose, begun by the bank after the UK government engineered the rescue of BOSI's Edinburgh-based parent bank, HBOS, last September by forcing it to merge with Lloyds TSB, which is now 43% state-owned.

The outcome of Project Primrose, which was discussed at a board meeting two weeks ago, and the orders coming from the UK have bitterly divided the executive committee which runs BOSI in Dublin, leading to the departure last week of head of retail banking Antoinette Dunne - considered a rising star and possible successor to chief executive Joe Higgins.

20 billion out of the system at a stroke ?

Not a vote of confidence in the Irish Banks Guarantee ?

[CookieMonster]

Harvey Norman are odd. They have this haggling thing going on where they invite you to haggle with the sales staff.

Notorious cynic that I am wasn't too invited with the whole idea.

Cookie: [To HN Sales person] What's the deal with his haggling thing then.
HNSP: [Starting off quite chipper] Oh well we want our customers to get the best deal possible so we invite them to haggle with us [copping that it wasn't going to work on me]... it's basically just a discount of like 10%.
Cookie: So can I have 10% off then?
HNSP: sure, just ask at the till, they usually give it anyway...

[drbob1972]

i think the recession will have a bigger impact on stores like dixons than Tesco. People will always need food shops but there will be a big impact on electrical retailers as people cut back.

yep the electrical retailers will suffer more your right, but DSG are one of the biggest resellers in the country, in the same way that Tesco's are one of the biggest grocers in the country,do whilst the whole sector contracts, sales down, stores closing /consolidating, etc. I'd not expect DSG to leave any more that i'd expect Tesco's to leave