Who ruined Lloyds TSB bank?

Robert Peston knows:

'UPDATE 10:32AM: I am hearing that this deal has been negotiated at a very high pay grade level, with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, talking to Sir Victor Blank, chairman of Lloyds TSB, about how helpful it would be if Sir Victor could bring himself to end the uncertainty hanging over HBOS by buying it.

It was not in the government's interest for there to be the faintest risk that it would have another Northern Rock on its hands.

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UPDATE 12:01PM: The big potential obstacle to this deal is the market share the combined group would have in mortgages and savings.

But I understand Lloyds and HBOS have a clever ruse to allay the concerns of the competition authorities - which could in theory block the deal.

It's crucial that there is a way through this competition problem, because confidence in HBOS would be severely dented if there were an extended period of uncertainty about whether the takeover can be executed.

However, for the avoidance of doubt, neither side has asked for taxpayers' money - either from the Bank of England or the Treasury - to facilitate this deal.

All that's required is that Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, is true to his recent word and puts in place new arrangements that would continue to allow all banks to exchange mortgage assets for the equivalent of cash.

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UPDATE 12:34PM: I now know more about how the competition obstacles to this deal will be surmounted. The government will announce that in the interests of financial stability it will legislate to over-ride the powers of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission to block the deal.'

So Robert Peston told us that Gordon Brown persuaded Sir Victor Blank, chairman of Lloyds TSB, to be 'helpful' and buy HBOS. He told us that Lloyds and HBOS had a 'clever ruse' to get around the concerns of the competition authorities. He told us that the government will announce that it will legislate to over-ride the powers of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission to block the deal.

So with that in mind, who would you blame for ruining Lloyds TSB? Gordon Brown? Odd that this particular part of the banking crisis seems to have been dropped from the BBC narrative of greedy bankers.