HBOS trio could face City bans

Vince Cable has asked his officials to see if there is enough evidence against Lord Stevenson, the former HBOS chairman, Sir James Crosby, the former chief executive, and Andy Hornby, his successor, to start a formal probe under the Company Directors Disqualification Act.

Mr Cable told The Sunday Times (£) it was the first step in a process which could lead to the three - who have so far not faced formal sanction - being barred from acting as company directors.

He told the newspaper:

Business Secretary Vince Cable has requested evidence which could lead to a City ban for the three former HBOS bosses whose "toxic misjudgments" were blamed for the bank's 2008 collapse, BBC News has reported.

It claims Mr Cable was "outraged" at Friday's damning Parliamentary report and has begun "formal proceedings" which could see Andy Hornby, Lord Stevenson and Sir James Crosby disqualified as company directors.

The collapse of HBOS cost the taxpayer £20 billion.

Read: Ex-HBOS bosses - where are they now?

Three former bosses of HBOS were blamed today for the collapse of one of Britain's biggest banks at a cost to the taxpayer of a staggering £20 billion.

A damning Parliamentary report said the downfall of HBOS was caused by the "toxic misjudgments" of Sir James Crosby, Lord Stevenson and Andy Hornby.

ITV News' Business Editor Richard Edgar reports:

Read Richard Edgar's blog here.

Read: HBOS ex-bosses - where are they now?

Read: Where angels fear to tread: The failings of HBOS bankers.

Sir James Crosby

Sir James Crosby was chief executive of HBOS from 2001 to 2006, and former deputy chairman of (banking regulator) the FSA.

He resigned this morning from his position at private equity firm Bridgepoint, and remains as a senior independent director of catering giant Compass.

He also remains chairman of the car credit company Money Barn, a spokeswoman for the company said.

Andy Hornby:

Andy Hornby was chief executive of HBOS until it was rescued by Lloyds (which was then rescued with £20bn bailout from taxpayers) in September 2008. He resigned as chief executive of Alliance Boots in 2011.

Currently chief executive of sports betting company Coral, who said today he has the "complete backing" of the board and is doing a "great job".

Lord Dennis Stevenson

Lord Dennis Stevenson was made a life peer in 1999, and sits on the cross benches of the House of Lords. He was chairman of HBOS until 2008. He has now returned to his venture capital roots, mainly through Loudwater Investment partners.

He has held a number of non-executive director positions, including at the Western Union, and the Economist.

Former HBOS chief executive Sir James Crosby has resigned as an advisor to private equity firm Bridgepoint, following criticism of his role in the collapse of the bank, a Bridgepoint spokesman said.

Sir James was accused of being the "architect of the strategy that set the course for disaster" by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. A spokesman for the European investment firm said:

Watch: MP slams 'colossal failures at HBOS and regulator'

Andrew Tyrie MP, chair of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, issued a withering attack on former HBOS executives, and banking regulator the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

In a blistering report cataloguing the "catastrophic failures" of management, Mr Tyrie said the taxpayers are still paying for the mistakes of individual bankers who walked away with huge sums of money, and called on the government to address "bonus culture."

Read: HBOS trio 'should apologise for reckless strategy'

Which? consumer rights group said the latest report into banking standards, which names and shames HBOS executives for their role in the demise of the bank, is another "shocking example" of failure.

Read: Where angels fear to tread: The failings of HBOS bankers

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said the report shows the need for a "big change in culture" to make banks work for their customers.

Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management, has told ITV Daybreak that HBOS "didn't have a very good management structure."

A parliamentary report published today catalogues the errors which led to the collapse of the Bank of Scotland and Halifax.