PETER Burt, Bank of Scotland's chief executive, will tonight tell Pat Robertson that their joint

venture to sell savings and loan products to the US television evangelist's 55 million viewers is off.

The bank will confirm its withdrawal from the deal, following public outrage over Robertson's offensive televised remarks about Scotland and homosexuals, tomorrow.

In an attempt to save face, Bank of Scotland yesterday flagged up its continuing ambition to crack the US market through direct banking.

A bank spokesman said:

''Peter (Burt) is over to see Pat Robertson.

''There is a meeting taking place in the States on Friday and we will be issuing a statement on the outcome of that meeting over the weekend.''

He would say only that

the meeting was being held to ''discuss a number of aspects of the deal''.

But insiders told The Herald it would be called off.

One said: ''You can put your next 10 years' mortgage payments on it - that it is finished.''

However, there remains some concern that Robertson might ''turn nasty''.

The spokesman, emphasising the bank's strategy had not changed, said: ''We do see direct banking as a fine way into the US market.

''It is perfectly possible for us to pursue direct banking with a number of other partners.''

City reaction to the bank's imminent withdrawal from the deal was mixed. Bank of Scotland shares were hit on Wednesday by mounting public opposition to the deal.

West Lothian Council had threatened to close its account with the bank and the Trades Union Congress to withdraw its affinity credit card business, which takes in more than 100,000 members.

The bank's shares recovered some of their losses yesterday, adding 11p to 861p, as it became clear it was pulling out.

Many banking analysts acknowledged that, given the furore, the joint venture had to be called off before it had even begun.

But one analyst, who declined to be named, described the bank's executives as ''wimps''.

''There aren't 55 million banking customers in Scotland or the UK,'' he said, giving his view that the TUC business was a ''poor substitute'' for that which could have come from the Robertson link-up. Another said of the bank's imminent exit: ''I suppose, in a way, you have got to say it is bad news.''

He added: ''Clearly, the risk of the whole thing was the reputational risk and that has well and truly blown up in their face before the thing even started.''

However, he lamented the fact that an ''inspired idea'' could not come to fruition.

Another analyst said people were becoming worried that the storm whipped up by the deal would hit the bank's domestic franchise.

Comments by Robertson on homosexuality, on one of his ''700 Club'' programmes, proved to be the straw which broke the camel's back.

Robertson described Scotland as a ''dark land'' and continued: ''In Europe, the big word is tolerance. Homosexuals are riding high in the media . . . and,

in Scotland, you can't believe how strong the homosexuals are.''

This was viewed by Bank of Scotland and Burt as an unforgivable attack on its ''heartland'' and all it stands for.

Opinion was divided on how much the reputation of the

bank's senior executives had been damaged by the fiasco.

One analyst said: ''Quite clearly, management have made quite a bit of a strategic error on this one and quite clearly haven't thought through the implications of what they were doing.''

Another said: ''They didn't sound out their stakeholders

thoroughly enough in doing

this - their customers and the community I suppose.''

But he added that the bank's management might get credit for ''going right to the edges of the envelope to try new ways of doing things''.

Bank of Scotland has been extremely innovative in expand-ing business outwith its home territory.

Even although it does not have a big branch network south of the Border, it now does more than half of its business there and has used direct delivery channels to build market share.

Its push into England and Wales has been aided by the launch of its supermarket banking joint venture with J Sainsbury at the start of 1997.

And, in late 1995, it took the bold step of acquiring Bank of Western Australia.

Robertson was unavailable for comment last night, as was his spokesman Gene Kapp.

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