Friday newspaper round-up: Pensions, HBOS, Royal Mail, M&S mortgages

One of the most ambitious IT projects ever undertaken in financial services, to provide individuals with an online “pensions dashboard” covering all the schemes they may have, has been given the go ahead by the government. The Department for Work and Pensions is aiming to bring all the 64m different pension pots in Britain under one roof so that individuals can see all their entitlements in one place. – Guardian

The acquisition of HBOS was a “unique opportunity” for Lloyds Banking Groupand regarded by its directors as in shareholders’ best interests, the high court has been told. Helen Davies, QC for Lloyds, opened the bank’s defence on Thursday by telling the court that a £600m claim for compensation by disgruntled investors was based on “myths and misconceptions” and that the deal was undertaken after advice from a list of advisers which ran to 50 pages. – Guardian

A senior boss from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has said he would rather "smash Royal Mail to bits" than back down over a dispute over pensions. Terry Pullinger, who is deputy general secretary of the CWU, made the comments on Thursday during a rally for postal workers in central London. - Telegraph

You will soon be able to buy a house with Marks & Spencer, after the retail giant’s banking arm announced plans to launch a mortgage range. The company better known for selling groceries and underwear will roll out its first mortgage products early next year, subject to regulatory approval. - Telegraph

The Barclay brothers are expected to collect a dividend of up to £200 million from Shop Direct as part of a refinancing of the digital retailer. Sir David and Sir Frederick have launched a £700 million bond issue after scrapping a £3 billion auction of the company behind shopping websites such as very.co.uk, veryexclusive.co.uk and littlewoods.com. – The Times

The Bank of England threatened to stop Lloyds using its cheap funding scheme if Lloyds did not make its own loan to stricken rival HBOS, according to court documents. Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s executive director of banking in 2008, said that Lloyds would only be able to use its Special Liquidity Scheme if it lent HBOS £7.5 billion, the papers filed at the High Court showed. – The Times