01 August 2006
HBOS, the bank formed by the merger of Halifax with Bank of
Scotland, has confirmed that it has paid down £800m of the
£1.8bn deficit in its final salary pension schemes since
December 2005.
Last December, HBOS promised to "pick up the tab" for the
£1.8bn shortfall in its four main final salary pension
schemes - Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Clerical Medical, and
Birmingham Midshires - which cover some 36,000 members.
The bank has now confirmed that it invested the first tranche of
£120m in the schemes in December 2005, with a further
£680m being paid into the schemes in July 2006. The bank has
also quadrupled its contributions to the funds over the last four
years, rising from £50m in 2001 to £200m in 2004.
David Fisher, director of human resources at HBOS, said: "This
is good news for colleagues in the group's final salary pension
scheme. HBOS is committed to eliminating its pension deficit within
10 years."
