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HBOS, now part of Lloyds Banking Group, has been identified as one of the biggest lenders to the struggling Las Vegas casino industry. HBOS is the holding bank of the Bank of Scotland.
The full extent of its involvement came following a loss of more than $500m last week on loans it provided to M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas . It is the second time in so many months that Lloyds has taken a beating in America.
From The Guardian:
The level of the bank's involvement in the US gaming sector has emerged after it made a loss of more than $500m last week on loans it provided to M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas – the second massive financial hit Lloyds has taken in America in as many months. Loans to casino groups accounted for 35% of the value of all US deals on which HBOS acted as an agent between 2004 and 2007, according to data held by financial information group Thomson Reuters.
It is not clear how much HBOS lent to US casinos in total, although it will be only part of the $18bn as most of the loans would have involved a syndicate of banks. However, in 2004 and 2005, the US division of HBOS was one of the main banks in a syndicate arranging loans of $1bn and $2bn to Station Casinos, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, as well as the bank being involved in a 2007 loan of $430m to Aliante Gaming, a Station subsidiary.
