Does the merger between Halifax and The Bank of Scotland (HBOS) create value?

AS and A Level Business Studies

Does the Merger between Halifax and The Bank of Scotland (HBOS) create value?

Management Research Methods

Research Proposal

Research Area: Mergers

Research Question: Does the Merger between Halifax and The Bank of Scotland (HBOS) create value?

Research Objectives:

To establish the motives of the merger of HBOS,
To determine how successful the Banks have been in terms of profitability post merger,
To identify why failures or successes have occurred,
To examine whether the merger will help create Britain’s 5th Major Bank in particular analysing impacts of the merger on competition in the Banking Industry,
To evaluate the impact of the mergers on an individual (management, shareholders, employees and customers) and examining programmes for dealing with separation anxiety for employees.

Background

I have decided to undertake research about the merger between Halifax and The Bank of Scotland because I had read an article in the Times Newspaper, which was quite interesting and made me want to find out more about the merger. I have also been interested in buying shares for a while now especially in the Banking sector and researching about HBOS will give me some idea of how shares fluctuate in such an industry and whether it would profitable for me to buy shares in the organisation.

The UK banking industry has changed dramatically in the past several years. Other financial institutions, such as credit unions, insurance companies, and investment firms, have taken on services that were formerly available only at commercial banks. The banking industry has also embarked on a trend toward consolidation that is expected to continue into the future. Many well-publicised mergers have transformed regional banks into national banking powerhouses. The impact of these bank mergers on shareholders, on the communities involved, and on customers, is significant, and therefore it is important to study their effects.

Mergers are considered to be initiated by financial or value maximising motives when the main objective is to increase shareholder wealth and financial synergy through economies of scale, transfer of knowledge and increased control. Some senior executives are motivated to instigate a merger out of fear of obsolescence (Cartwright & Cooper, 1992: 19). In their view managers who survive are people recognised as always looking for new opportunities. Consequently they use merger as a means by which they can enhance or renew their credibility and restore self-confidence and that of the board or can be motivated by an egotistical need to exercise power and flex their muscles by engaging in some empire-building.

There are many reasons why a company fails after the merger; poor selection decisions, in that an over-inflated purchase price was paid; ‘the potential economies of scale and projected earnings ratios were not realised’ (Moon, 1976: 74) because of financial mismanagement or incompetence or there were sudden and unpredicted changes in market conditions.

Mergers can lead to job losses and redeployment, as a result of rationalisation and role duplication. In order to accelerate the process of culture change, organisations frequently elect to replace people.

Developing programmes to manage anxiety is a complex process because ‘emotions and anxiety’ (Marks, 1988: 20) can be intense and can fluctuate rapidly. Organisations need to deal with the separation anxiety on mergers. There have been successful outplacement programs for coping with mergers.

There are many incentives for banks to merge their activities. There is an allure of increased profitability and greater market share. Merged banks may be in a stronger position to deal with competition from other banks and financial service companies. Mergers may also result in reduced operating costs (Standard and Poor's, 1997).

Aside from actual or perceived price increases to consumers, it is clear that merger activity has an impact on customer retention. Insufficient emphasis on bank customers and their perceptions may cause them to switch away from the newly merged bank (Morall, 1996). On the other hand, small community banks may actually benefit from the changing competitive landscape. Consumers who perceive merged banks to be too large, too bureaucratic, or too impersonal may find a greater customer orientation at a smaller bank (Katz, 1992).

However Bank mergers can benefit customers through larger loan limits, more branches, more cash point machines and greater opportunities for electronic banking. However, mergers may also result in higher prices for bank services.

The announcement in May 2001 of the merger between Bank of Scotland and Halifax was greeted with remarkable enthusiasm after a shareholder vote to become HBOS,” (Parsley, D. 2001: 9) it was believed that the strategy of becoming consumer champion would hit returns. The aim of the merger is for HBOS to be a major competitor to the big four banks, and win a substantial market share in small business banking within the next three years by undercutting the high street banks.

The real problems in a merger come from ensuring that people work together and that the corporate cultures fit. The Bank of Scotland and Halifax have worked closely together over many years, for example Bank of Scotland processed Halifax's initial credit card portfolio and it also seconded a team of people to help in the aftermath of the property crisis at the start of the Nineties. So there were people in both organisations that had known each other over a long period.

The banks hope that the merger will realise £140million of extra revenue from offering Bank of Scotland’s business banking services through Halifax branches. The combination of the two corporate and treasury divisions is expected to boost revenues by £115 million, with a further £195million of cost savings from putting together central support and back-office functions.

Such cost advantages, diversity of business mix and asset quality, all emphasise the sheer quality of HBOS's earnings power. But more than anything else, it was Halifax and Bank of Scotland's shared vision of how best to exploit this quality, which brought them together as HBOS; in all their markets they aim to have customer propositions, which offer value, transparency and service.

The merger of the Bank of Scotland and Halifax opens up huge opportunities. Combining the strengths of both businesses provides an excellent base for a strong challenge to the four clearing banks. Halifax will build on strong foundations with the Bank of Scotland brand. Potential customers will perceive them as a bank with an established track record of experience, stability, credibility and innovation.

Following the merger the banks now have a nation-wide presence on the high street and can maximise those opportunities previously unavailable to them. “This combination of the Halifax retail network along with Bank of Scotland's business banking experience is the essential catalyst for the creation of the 'New Force in Business Banking’.” (Atherton, M. 2001: 5)

HBOS’s product offer will reflect the individual strengths of each brand. North of the border Bank of Scotland will focus on banking and consumer credit and the Halifax on mortgages and savings. All customers in Scotland will benefit from a wider, more competitive product range and even greater convenience. Halifax products will be available in five times as many Scottish branches as they are now. “HBOS will be the most aggressive high street bank operating in the UK.” (Wheatcroft, P, 2001: 29). It aims to consolidate its position as the clear No.1 in mortgages and savings in the UK marketplace. ...

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Method

I plan to undertake the research by using a wide range of appropriate methods. The methods include primary and secondary research.

Secondary Research involves using existing sources of information such as Books, Journals, Newspapers and Websites. Majority of the project will be based on secondary data.

Proposed Books

There are wide ranges of books, which are useful for my project. I have decided to use the text book ‘Mergers, Motives, Modes, Methods’ by Goldberg (1983) as he describes how most mergers are controlled by multiple motives rather than by a single one, because several parties are involved, each of them usually having several different objectives in mind to be achieved by means of merger. The author is also able to identify from a managerial perspective how one can ‘distinguish management of post-merger integration from pre-merger planning’ (Goldberg, 1983: 219). The text book is important and relevant as the information will be used as a basis for the literature on mergers for the project and will be used in reference to the merger between Halifax and The Bank of Scotland to identify the motives of the merger and to help conclude that one of the key tasks during post-merger integration is to establish effective mechanisms for handling conflicts (which are frequent in a newly merged company).

Needham and Dransfield (1996) are able to provide adequate and appropriate information about how a firm expands horizontally when it increases the scale of its operations by combining with another firm in the same line of business in the text book ‘Business Studies’, This is directly relevant to the merger between the Banks. The authors are able to provide the business opportunities available due to a strategy of horizontal integration, such as ‘changes to the organisation’s structure’ (Needham & Dransfield, 1996: 66). This will be relevant when examining how successful the Banks have been in terms of profitability post-merger.

Culture is considered ‘powerful, enduring and pervasive influence on human behaviour’ (Martin, 1985: 57). The author describes how culture is reflected in many ways, and influences not only structure and managerial style, but also the way in which an organisation conducts its business in the widest sense. His Text Book ‘Culture, collisions in mergers & acquisitions’ is a valuable source to depict how the merger influenced the culture in the Banks and how it affected employee performance.

Astrachan (1990) describes the impact of mergers on an individual in the text Book ‘Mergers, Acquisitions & Employee Anxiety’, the likely effects of mergers on those people taken over. Mergers are about ‘power, differing perceptions, cultures and definitions of the situation’ (Astrachan, 1990: 33), and so is potentially confliction, the social and cultural ramifications extending beyond the boardroom. The author also describes how mergers raise employee anxiety and how, in turn, this anxiety affects behaviour, satisfaction, productivity and effectiveness. This source will be appropriate to use when analysing the effects of the merger on employees and the impact of the merger on the organisation as a whole.

Bendry et al (2001) is able to provide adequate information on how to interpret financial statements in the textbook ‘Accounting & Finance in Business’, a profit and Loss account and Balance Sheet. A Profit and Loss account ‘measures performance over a period’ (Bendry et al, 2001: 116). At the end of the period it shows what profit has been achieved whereas a balance sheet shows the ‘financial position of the business’ (Bendry et al, 2001: 26) at the end of the period. Ratio analysis is a key technique for interpreting the financial statements of the organisation. Investment ratios will be carried out to see if the resulting success or failure of the merger was due to good or bad investment choices. All the data will be critically analysed and observations and results will be drawn appropriately. The Investment ratios will also be carried out from the annual accounts of the two Banks before the merger and after the merger. The calculations of the ratios can highlight where there are weaknesses and where management can take action. This textbook is very important for interpreting and analysing the data from the company’s consolidated accounts to find out about the company’s performance whether it’s doing well or bad after the merger.

B. Journals

Journals will also be used as a means of gathering data. Urban and Pratt (2000) explore the motives for bank mergers and the increased competition in the Banking Industry in the Journal ‘Perceptions of banking services in the wake of bank mergers’. The authors describe how a ‘successful marketing approach’ (Urban & Pratt, 2000) can help banks in maintaining their customers and enhance quality of services, which will then help to increase market share. The journal is relevant, as it will be used for the literature review for the project.

Morall (1996) describes from the customer's perspective, how bank mergers can result in consumers receiving more services, in the Journal ‘Managing a merger without losing customers’. Some of these services include ‘larger loan limits, more branches, and more ATMs’ (Morall, 1996). This is important and pertinent information when conducting the literature review and analysing the effectiveness of the merger for customers as it shows how Mergers can improve service delivery through the means of increasing their capability to offer electronic banking and other technological service enhancements.

Newspapers

Newspapers will also be a relevant source of information.’ The Times Newspaper’ depicts the motives of the merger between Bank of Scotland and Halifax. The merger was predicted to deliver ‘£690m of synergies’ (Merell, 05/05/2001: 52) from the time of the merger to 2004. The most important reason for the merger was the fact that both banks shared a common philosophy. Each had an objective of aggressive growth by providing a first-class service to their customers. The newspaper article is necessary to draw conclusions upon the various motives of the banks.

The Writer also describes how the Directors have decided to introduce a ‘Share Dividend Plan’ (Merrell, 05/05/2001: 53) and to offer ordinary shareholders the choice of electing under the Plan to receive the whole of their dividends in new ordinary shares credited as fully paid instead of cash in respect of the proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2001 and for future dividends. In-depth study can be gained from this article concerning the impact of the merger on shareholders.

‘The Sunday Times Newspaper’ describes how Halifax's strong franchise in savings and mortgages provides ‘clear competitive advantages’ (Hamilton, 06/05/2001: 3) relative to other retail groups, and the acquisition of the Halifax Equitable sales force in 2001 gives HBOS the opportunity to extend these advantages to its professional and business customers as it moves forward and how Halifax’s merger with the Bank of Scotland will pave the way for the creation of the UK’s fifth biggest bank. This newspaper article is also going to be accessed to draw conclusions upon the various motives of the banks.

D. The Internet

The Internet will enable me to access the annual report and accounts of both the companies. The Annual accounts of HBOS are readily available for a period of two years. The financial statements will enable me to assess Halifax and Bank of Scotland’s performance before the merger (the website to access Halifax’s and Bank of Scotland’s annual accounts is http://www.hbosplc.com), when they merged (the year end accounts) and their performance in 2002 to evaluate the financial stability of the company and to predict the future performance and stability of the company.

The annual accounts will also be useful to assess share fluctuation (examining the number of shares issued each year and the price of the shares) to identify if shares have gone up resulting a success and if shares have gone down resulting in failure in means of further assessing organisational performance.

The company’s record of past sales (information will be gathered from the annual accounts) will provide valuable data, which will be used to establish a connection between the company’s performance and outside influences. These are all important when analysing the motives of the merger and success of HBOS for the project.

The Internet will also enable me to access various websites concerning the impact of the merger on HBOS. Today HBOS ‘has more customers than any other bank in the UK’ (, 18/03/2003) and is the largest provider of housing finance. This website will be beneficial when discussing the success of the merger in the project.

BBC News explains how the £28bn merger places the new banking group at the bottom of a UK league, which includes ‘Royal Bank of Scotland, now owner of NatWest, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and HSBC’ (, 18/03/2003). This website is able to provide in-depth information about the effects of the merger on the top four banks in Britain therefore it will be useful when comparing the performance of HBOS with its competitors.

HBOS explains how ‘Shareholders in HBOS plc can qualify for special offers’ (http://www.hbosplc.com) such as the Waiving of 3% initial charge for lump sum investments in the Halifax ISA Investor/Growth Trust and a choice of cash back card or a low introductory rate. This website is also able to provide in-depth information about the benefits of the merger towards the shareholders therefore it will be useful when analysing the impact of the merger on shareholders.

Primary Research involves conducting first-hand research. These are the following methods I am going to use: -

Questionnaires

Questionnaires will be designed to find out how management feel about the merger, and also the employees. Questionnaires will be distributed during the semi-structured interviews. Questionnaires for employees are going to be developed to measure group process, group attitudes and individual emotional state. A further feature of the design will be personal experiences from participants to gather information about separation anxiety and the impact of the mergers on employees, as it is relevant to the project.

Questionnaires will be designed for customers as well to see how they feel bout the merger and whether it has been beneficial for them or not. I will stand outside the Halifax Bank before I conduct the interviews with the Managers and ask customers if they are willing to fill in the questionnaires and not force them if they do not wish to do so. The advantages of personal delivery of questionnaires are that respondents can be helped to overcome difficulties with the questions. Questionnaires are an appropriate method of collecting quantitative and qualitative information from people. As a method of data collection, the questionnaire is a very flexible tool. Questionnaires can be a relatively economic method, in cost and time, of soliciting data. Time for checking facts and pondering on the questions can also be taken by the respondents, which tends to lead to more accurate information.

Postal Questionnaires

Due to access issues I am unable to interview the Manager at The Bank of Scotland therefore Postal Questionnaires will be sent to the Managers. The Postal Questionnaires will involve closed and open questions. The questions asked will reflect upon the failures of the merger if there are any, the success of the company and the impact on management post-merger. This information will help me when I am discussing managerial performance and organisational performance in the project.

Interviews

I will interview the Senior Managers at Halifax Banks in Preston, Burnley, Nelson, Blackburn, Leeds and Manchester. The interviews will take place to see how the Managers consider the effects of the merge, whether they think it’s a success or a failure and the reasons for their views. The Managers will also be asked if they have achieved all their aims (if they created Britain’s 5th Major Bank). Tape-recording is a method, which will be used during the interviews as it aids the listening process and gives the opportunity of an unbiased record of the conversation.

Interviewing Management face-to-face with open-ended questions is an appropriate method as I am able to explain any ambiguities and correct any misunderstandings of the questions asked and if I am not sure about the answers I can probe for clarification. As a result I can expect to receive a complete set of high quality data from all the selected interviewees and cover all the questions.

Sampling

I am going to use probability sampling, which involves ‘identifying and questioning people in a particular organisation’ (Jankowicz, 2000: 193) thereby to draw direct conclusions about the company.

I am going to conduct six interviews with the Senior Managers to analyse the data in terms of comparing and contrasting the data, which will be assessed for the validity of the information and six Questionnaires will be designed and distributed to the Senior Managers at the various Halifax Banks. The Banks I have chosen are located in Preston, Burnley, Nelson, Blackburn, Leeds and Manchester. I have chosen these cities and towns as they are accessible and transport costs are relatively cheap. Due to transport problems and costs I am unable to interview and randomly distribute questionnaires to other Managers at Halifax Banks in Britain however sufficient information can be received from a small sample as the information collected will relatively be the same. Organisational structure differs in larger Branches that is why it is necessary to carry out interviews and distribute questionnaires in towns and cities as the impact on management and employees may be different in comparison to smaller branches.

The Senior Managers will be asked to randomly select employees who have worked in the company before the merger to fill in the questionnaires about the impact of the merger. Selecting samples randomly is ‘an attempt to remove the possibility of selection bias’ (Remenyi, 1998: 194). The number of employees selected will depend on the Manager and the number of employees who are willing to complete the questionnaire.

I want to collect data from 30 customers at each of the listed Halifax Banks, which is a reasonably large sample of people that have had a Bank account before the merger and therefore will be able to provide valuable data of the effects of the merger on customers. Before distributing the questionnaires to the customers I will ask them how long they have had a bank account with Halifax, as I only want the customers to fill in the questionnaire who had an account before the merger.

A Postal Questionnaire will be sent to the Manager at The Bank of Scotland (Scotland) and the Manager at the Bank of Scotland located in Ireland, as I am unable to conduct an interview with them because of transport costs. A small sample will provide reliable information.

Access Issues and Considerations

Questionnaires

The Managers at the Banks might not allow me to give employees questionnaires to find out about the impact of the merger therefore secondary data from the Internet will prove to be useful.

Postal Questionnaires

The postal questionnaires will be mailed with a covering letter informing the recipient of the nature of the study, its importance, what it will be used for, the time taken to complete the questionnaire, the date by which the questionnaire should be returned and the benefits gained from participating. It will offer incentives such as a copy of the final report. The problems I will have with the postal questionnaires are that I may not receive them or the answers may be incomplete. A good covering letter can contribute significantly to increasing the response rate. This method requires the questionnaire to be highly structured, with questions being predominantly closed-ended. The questionnaire will be simple to complete and not too lengthy to complete.

Interviews

The Halifax Bank plc has many branches throughout the country. HBOS the holding company of the HBOS Group has two direct subsidiaries: 1) Halifax Group plc, Retail Financial Services in England & Wales, and 2) The Governor & Company of the Bank of Scotland, banking in Scotland. The combination of Halifax and Bank of Scotland has created a major and distinctive competitor in the UK financial services market.

I will secure access for the interviews by visiting the Halifax Banks, which are in walking distance (Burnley, Nelson and Manchester) and telephoning those who are not in walking distance (Preston, Blackburn and Leeds). The Banks will be offered the opportunity to comment on the transcripts of the tape or on written up field notes. I am also going to offer interviewees a summary of the results and conclusions, and to make sure they are sent. These strategies are not only just ploys to obtain permission for interviews but form important ways of validating data and gaining new insights.

However the interviews could be biased and in order to avoid bias open questions will be useful. There will be some occasions where I will want to focus on discovering responses to specific alternatives and in this case probes can be useful to sharpen up the interviewee’s response.

The decision on whether or not to use tape-recorder depends on an interviewee’s anxiety about confidentiality and the use to which any information divulged could be put. Anxiety can be minimised by handing over the responsibility for switching the tape on and off to the interviewee, so that when he or she does not wish certain parts to be recorded, they can just switch off the machine. However if the existences of a tape-recorder for reasons of general anxiety or corporate security create strong inhibitions then I will have to rely on good note taking at the time of the interview.

The Internet

The Internet provides a huge range of free and chargeable resources. Access is convenient from my personal computer at any time of the day, and data can be easily saved and copied out (depending on copyright restrictions). Accessing some sites can be painfully slow in the afternoon in the UK owing to heavy usage of the Internet by people in USA therefore it would be best if I accessed the relevant data in the Mornings to ensure efficiency of time.

Making contact by Telephone

I am going to telephone the Managers in Preston, Leeds and Blackburn to gain access for the interviews. This avoids the necessity of travelling to the respondents, and all the time and problems associated with contacting people personally. Problems may occur when the managers are unavailable therefore I will have to contact them by e-mail or phone them again at a more convenient time.

Books

Books are available at the Burnley Central Library and at the University’s Library for free. However books needed for the project may be on loan therefore I will have to reserve them for when they are required.

Burnley Central Library

I am able to access the newspaper articles from the Libraries computer database for free. These are easy to access. Problems, which may occur, would be someone else might be using the libraries computer database therefore I would have to reserve it for a specific time and period.

Ethical Considerations

The Dissertation will involve being aware of several ethical considerations and issues.

1. Confidentiality

It is pertinent I respect the confidentiality of the source of any evidence of information that is received from the managers and the employees. This is especially important if there is any question of the evidence having any competitive or commercial sensitivity.

2. Openness with the Managers

The Managers in the study will need to know a number of things and to be given a series of assurances. It is imperative I do not have any hidden agendas; to be fully open and honest, the managers will be aware of exactly why the evidence is required and exactly what will be done with it once the research has been completed; where the manager does not wish to have his or her name associated with the evidence, this request will be respected and I will not obtain information from employees under duress. Thus it would not be acceptable for me to have Manager insist that the staff complete the questionnaires if the individual involved do not wish to do so.

3. Plagiarism

Ideas of others need to be appropriately referenced. Plagiarism is unethical to the extent of copying large tracts of work without acknowledging the source.

4. Assistance from the tutor

The amount of assistance I will receive from the tutor will be extensive in a number of ways, but care needs to be taken so that the dissertation does not become predominantly the work of the supervisor rather than that of mine.

Misrepresentation of Work Done

It is unethical to exaggerate the amount of work actually done therefore it is necessary to only use data that I have collected.

Unacceptability of personal questions

Personal questions are unacceptable in questionnaires. Examples of these include issues of age, race, sex and educational standard achieved. Therefore the questionnaires will only consist of questions, which are directly relevant to the merger.

Time-Scale

It is planned that the research will follow the timetable that is set out below: -

01/06/2003- Locating and accessing archival, secondary data (up to 4 weeks)

02/07/2003- Locating and accessing web-based www and ftp data (1minute, 1 day)

05/07/2003- Reading empirically based journal articles thoroughly (4 hours)

08/07/2003- Progress of the project judged by the tutor

16/07/2003-Reading the Books thoroughly (15 hours)

25/07/2003- Absorbing and using statistically based techniques (50 hours)

28/07/2003- Literature Review ( 1 week)

08/08/2003- Preparing a 15-question interview schedule (1 day)

01/09/2003- Agree access to organisations for collection of primary data (2 weeks)

15/09/2003- Conducting an interview with Halifax Bank in Burnley and distributing questionnaires to the manager and employees (2 hours)

17/09/2003- Conducting an interview with Halifax Bank in Nelson and distributing questionnaires to the manager and employees (2 hours)

19/09/2003- Conducting an interview with Halifax Bank in Manchester and distributing questionnaires to the manager and employees (2 hours)

21/09/2003- Conducting an interview with Halifax Bank in Preston and distributing questionnaires to the manager and employees (2 hours)

23/09/2003- Conducting an interview with Halifax Bank in Leeds and distributing questionnaires to the manager and employees (2 hours)

25/09/2003- Conducting an interview with Halifax Bank in Blackburn and distributing questionnaires to the manager and employees (2 hours)

28/09/2003- Transcribing one hour of tape-recorded interviews (42 hours)

03/10/2003- Cross checking an interviewee’s assertion (up to 4 phone calls)

04/10/2003- Progress of the report judged by the Tutor

11/10/2003- Sending Postal questionnaires by first class-mail (1 week) and Time for respondent’s completion (2weeks)

23/10/2003- Time for postal return

24/10/2003- Time to post, complete, return chase up letter and questionnaires (3 weeks)

01/ 01/2004- Implementing and evaluating the data (2 months)

10/01/2004- Progress of the project judged by the tutor

15/03/2004- Word process the data collected and analysed (4 weeks)

Deadline date- Final Project Submission

Bibliography

Andes, G, T (1996) ‘Making mergers work’, Bank Management, 72, 2, 8-13

BBC News (04/05/2001) ‘Third time lucky for Bank of Scotland’, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1312215.stm, (accessed 18/03/2003)

Bendry, M. Hussey, R & West, C (2001) ‘Accounting & Finance in Business’, 4th edition, Continuum

Cartwright, S & Cooper, C, L (1992) ‘Mergers & Acquisitions: The Human Factor’, Butterworth Heinemann

Goldberg, W, H (1883) ‘Mergers, motives, modes, methods’, Aldershot

Hamilton, K (06/05/2001) ‘Merger; Halifax; Bank of Scotland’, The Sunday Times Newspaper, p3, (accessed 03/02/2003)

HBOS (04/05/2001) ‘Merger’, (accessed 18/03/2003)

HBOS (27/01/2003) ‘Success Story’, http://www.coextant.com/topic.aspx?DOC_UNID=37AFE0088A5347439177B24E087FEE35 , (accessed 18/03/2003)

Hitt, M, A (2001) ‘Mergers and acquisitions: a guide to creating value for stakeholders’, Oxford University Press

Jankowicz, A, D (2000) ‘Business Research Projects’, 3rd Edition, Thomson Business Press

Joseph, H, A (1990) ‘Mergers, Acquisitions & Employee anxiety – A study of separation anxiety in a corporate context’, London, Praeger

Martin, J (1985) ‘Culture Collisions in mergers & acquisitions’, London, Sage

Merell, C (05/05/2003) ‘Merger; Bank of Scotland’, The Times Newspaper, p52-53 (accessed 03/02/2003)

Moon, R, W (1976) ‘Business mergers & take-over bids’, Gee & Co ltd

Morall, K (1996) ‘Managing a merger without losing customers’, Bank Marketing, 28, 3, 18-23

Remenyi, D. Williams, B. Money, A & Swartz, E (1998) ‘Doing research in Business & Management’, Sage

Saunders, M & Lewis, S (2003) ‘Research methods for Business Students’, Prentice Hall

Smith, M, E. Thorpe, R & Lowe, A (2002) ‘Management research- an introduction’, 2nd edition, Sage

Walliman, W (2001) ‘Your Research Project’, Sage

Watson, D & Head, A (2001) ‘Corporate finance –Principles & Practice’, Prentice Hall

Urban, D, J & Pratt, M, D (2000) ‘Perceptions of Banking Services in the wake of bank mergers: an empirical study’, Journal of Services Marketing, 14, 2, 118-131