Halifax hires hundreds as it enters business banking

Halifax is to recruit hundreds of bankers as part of its plan to grab a 5% share of the business banking market after its £30bn merger with the Bank of Scotland.

The new bank, which is officially formed today and will be known as HBOS, has not yet put a precise figure on the number of new staff it will need. It is preparing to embark on a big recruitment campaign which could add 1,000 business banking staff to its payroll, ranging from support staff to managers.

The operation will be headed by Colin Matthew, the Bank of Scotland's head of business banking.

The new staff, and the business banking centres will be based in Halifax's branches in England and Wales, where the former building society has yet to make much of dent in business banking. A call-centre back-up service is also being set up.

90% of all business banking, which is the subject of a delayed competition commission inquiry, is run by the "big four" - HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest. The commission has found that they operate a "complex monopoly" in business banking.

The Bank of Scotland is a big player in the business market, particularly in Scotland, and when Halifax announced its merger with the Edinburgh bank it pledged to become a fifth force to compete with the big four.

James Crosby, the chief executive of HBOS and the former Halifax boss, said: "This is the most exciting market to go into to break the inertia".

Halifax, which will retain its brand identity on the high street, is yet to reveal the details of the products it plans to offer to small businesses.

"We're looking to have transparency in charging structure and there will be a value element in it," said Mr Crosby.

As a result of the merger, 2,000 jobs are expected to be shed over three years, mostly as a result of combining the head offices. Most of these jobs are to go through natural wastage.

Halifax is trying to take on the big four in the personal current account market by offering interest - initially at 4% - on balances as part of its drive to be more consumer friendly.

It has got into difficulties in the mortgage market with the financial ombudsman who has concluded that it may have mistreated some mortgage customers during its recent re-pricing of home loans. Mr Crosby said he felt confident the decision, which Halifax is appealing against, would be overturned. "I don't think it stacks up," he said.