The trustees of the company pension scheme at HBOS, a major UK mortgage lender, will decide today on whether to challenge the terms of an acquisition by Lloyds TSB. The challenge would aim to force the newly merged company to be responsible for the HBOS scheme, which could be nursing a funding deficit of up to £5bn (€5.2bn).

In early December, the trustees said they were "deeply concerned" that Lloyds TSB had not put forward any detailed proposals on how to deal with the HBOS scheme. The parent company of the merged group would only be obliged to ensure that the HBOS scheme is funded if it accepts a legal obligation to do so, according to the statement issued by the trustee board.