The Bank of Scotland took on an ambitious plan to increase its profits by picking up stakes in Companies to which they were providing loans. This plan was started in the year 2000 and had completed 115 deals, worth £10bn by the year 2007.       

A lot of changes were made today after Lloyds Banking Group decided to sell most of the assets that it received from rescuing HBOS in the year 2008. 

It is also getting £332m from private equity player Coller Capital and it is also entering into a joint venture with it. The venture will be called Cavendish Square Partners and Lloyds will have a 30% stake in the new venture.

Experts feel that the overall valuation is much less compared to the time, when Lloyds first took control of these assets almost 18 months earlier. The financial crisis also affected the whole financial services industry in a big manner and also wiped out thousands of jobs from the financial sector.   

At the same time, some of the experts have criticized Lloyds for starting such a venture. They feel that the bank should be taking steps to find more value for its shareholders and try to improve its position in the market. 

On the other hand, Lloyds is confident of generating more money from the venture. It claims that it has already made £750m from selling businesses in the last one year and it hopes to continue this trend in the coming times.