LONDON - For some British bankers, a knighthood is not for life.
James Crosby, the former chief executive of HBOS, said Tuesday he would ask authorities to remove his knighthood in light of a damning report published last week that blamed him in part for the mortgage lender’s 2008 collapse.
“Shortly after I left HBOS, I received the enormous honor of a knighthood in recognition of my own â€" and many other people’s â€" contribution to the creation of a company which was then widely regarded as a great success,†Mr. Crosby said in an e-mailed statement. “In view of what has happened subsequently to HBOS, I believe that it is right that I should now ask the appropriate authorities to take the necessary steps for its removal.â€
Frederick A. Goodwin, the former chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, was stripped of his knighthood last year because of his role in the failure of the bank, which had to be bailed out by the government.
Pressure on Mr. Crosby, who stood down as chief executive of HBOS in 2006, mounted after a parliamentary report last week specifically blamed him and two other former managers for the HBOS collapse. The report called on regulators to consider barring the three men from taking any roles in the financial sector.
Mr. Crosby said he was “deeply sorry for what happened at HBOS†and that he “always tried to act with integrity.†“I would like to express my sincere regret for events,†he wrote in the e-mail.
He also said that he would give up 30 percent of his pension, which currently is about 580,000 pounds (or $887,700) per year.
