Article: When Royal Bank and Midshires agreed deal, it was all smiles. Then the Halifax crashed the cosy party

THE EXECUTIVES of the Royal Bank of Scotland presumed it was all in the bag. The Edinburgh-based bankers would soon have a well- established Middle England building society which would nicely complement the successful expansion of one of Scotland's leading companies. Last August Mike Jackson, the chief executive of Birmingham and Midshires Building Society, was delighted to pose for pictures with the Royal Bank's chief executive, Dr George Mathewson, in London, after an acquistion was agreed. Without counting chickens, it looked as if the building society's mutual members could eventually be persuaded too.

But now the Royal Bank has ruled itself out of a bidding auction by refusing to offer ...

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