Ananova:

Two former Scottish bank bosses have written to HBOS in an attempt to stop the bank being taken over - but the HBOS board has said they offer "no money on the table".

Sir Peter Burt and Sir George Mathewson said it would be better for the bank and its shareholders if HBOS remained independent instead of being taken over by Lloyds TSB.

The pair, who are the former heads of Bank of Scotland and RBS respectively, called for the chairman and chief executive to resign - and offered to replace them.

However, the chairman of HBOS has now told the men that their proposal has been "unanimously" rejected by the bank's board.

In a statement, HBOS said: "In short, there is no money on the table.

"We do not believe their proposal offers a significant prospect of value for HBOS shareholders, nor do we believe that it offers certainty of delivery for HBOS shareholders.

"Their proposal assumes that government capital would be on offer to them, but they provide no certainty that this will indeed be the case.

"HBOS did, of course, consider the merits of a stand-alone option.

"The board believes that the deal with Lloyds TSB is a superior proposition."

Reacting to the board's rejection, Sir George - who stepped down from his role as chief executive and chairman at RBS in 2006 - said: "I do not think it makes any difference to us whatsoever. It is what we suspected."

He added: "I think we will contact some shareholders and ask them what they feel about the proposal. It is all about evaluating the best way forward."

Speaking from his Perthshire home, Sir George had earlier defended his decision to propose an alternative outcome for HBOS.

He told Sky News: "This deal was conceived in haste and as far as I can tell no-one has conceived any alternatives".

Sir George had been unsure what effect the letter would have but said he and Sir Peter expressed their opposition to represent the many people who do not agree it should go ahead.

"We are suggesting they stand down and we step in for an interim period and we do our best to see what other solution we could put in place."

The letter was sent to HBOS chairman Sir Dennis Stevenson calling for Sir Peter to take over as chairman and Sir George to replace chief executive Andy Hornby.

Sir Peter and Sir George could then recruit new managers for the top positions and then leave when the bank is perceived to be stable.

HBOS is currently the subject of a £12bn merger, which Lloyds believe will deliver annual savings of more than £1.5bn by the end of 2011.

But there has been no mention of where costs will be cut, with concerns growing in Scotland that the merger could see thousands of roles axed.

Shareholders will vote on the takeover in the next few weeks and a deal should be concluded in January.