 The main events of his stewardship were the failed takeover bid for the NatWest Bank and the merger with Halifax plc to form HBOS.Following the merger, he served as Deputy Chairman of HBOS and Governor of the Bank of Scotland, (a largely ceremonial role) from 2001 to 2003, and left the board afterwards.By September 2008 HBOS was revealed to be in a poor financial condition and word broke of advanced merger talks with Lloyds TSB, the reports were later confirmed.