Vince Cable, the business secretary in the UK government, has asked the investigators to determine if the three former HBOS directors can be banned from working as company directors.

He asked the investigations and enforcement branch of the Insolvency Service to find out if there is enough evidence against former HBOS chairman Lord Stevenson, and former chief executives Crosby and Andy Hornby so as to be able to ban them from being appointed as company directors. The demand comes after a critical report from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which called for the three executives to be banned from working in the financial services industry.

It is believed that Sir James Crosby has a pension package of £20 million from the collapsed bank. Crosby has stepped down from his role at Bridgepoint, a private equity firm, but continues to remain director of the caterer Compass.

"There are things I am able to do. It is quite a legalistic process. I can ask [officials] to look at whether the companies investigations branch take action. We do have this power that I have begun to initiate," said Cable. MPs have called for Crosby and Stevenson to be banned from their roles in the companies.