HBOS to close Scottish Halifax branches

Banking group HBOS is set to close all its Halifax branches in Scotland as part of its drive to cut costs by ?340m a year, it emerged today.

The group, which was formed by the ?28bn merger of Halifax and Bank of Scotland (BOS), will shut its 61 Halifax branches north of the border during the next three years.

The move will result in around 100 job losses, though the group said it hoped to avoid compulsory redundancies.

By October this year all Halifax branches will have been rebranded to BOS, although they will still carry a small Halifax logo and sell its mortgage and saving products.

The first closures will be in Arbroath, Dumbarton and Dumfries, where Halifax and BOS branches will be combined in April and May this year, followed by closures in a further six locations which have yet to be announced.

A group spokeswoman said HBOS had decided on the move to capitalise on the strong brand recognition BOS enjoyed north of the border.

She added that Halifax customers would be able to bank through BOS branches, and there were no Halifax branches in locations where there was not a BOS one.

HBOS is hoping to cut costs by ?340m a year by the end of 2004.

Unions said the move came as no surprise, though they welcomed the fact that HBOS was not pulling out of any locations.

Wendy Dunsmore, national officer of finance union UNIFI, said: "We welcome the bank's commitment to community banking."

Ged Nichols, general secretary of the Independent Union of Halifax Staff, said: "Many of our members in Scotland will be upset at the loss of the Halifax identity and the merging of branches.

"We will be seeking further talks with HBOS management when we have properly assessed members' reactions."

Mick McAteer, senior policy adviser at the Consumers' Association, said: "We are worried about access for certain consumers and small businesses who use branches a lot.

"We are very keen to look at cost-effective ways of sharing branches that will extend access to consumers but will be cost neutral for the banks."