BANKING

Lloyds Drops Out of Midland Bank Bidding: Lloyds Bank has announced that it is dropping its bid for Midland Bank after a rival raised its bid. On Tuesday, HSBC Holdings, the parent of Hongkong & Shanghai Bank Corp., raised its friendly bid to $7.1 billion, compared to the $6.6 billion that Lloyds initially offered. Midland’s management had supported the HSBC bid. Midland Chairman Peter Walters said in a letter to shareholders that Lloyds’ offer was unrealistic and should be withdrawn. A HSBC merger with Midland would create one of the world’s 10 largest banks, with 3,300 offices in 68 countries. Midland would continue to operate as a separate bank in Britain and retain the bulk of its existing network.