Lloyds bank to scrap Halifax brand in Scotland
Lloyds bank, currently undertaking a significant reorganisation of the business, has announced plans to scrap the Halifax brand in Scotland and instead focus upon the Bank of Scotland brand. This comes as no great surprise when you bear in mind the reputation and standing which the Bank of Scotland had in Scotland prior to the merger with HBOS. So is this a move which now allows Bank of Scotland to effectively operate as a stand-alone business in Scotland.
As we have covered on numerous occasions, Lloyds bank is currently awaiting the details of a ruling by the EU commission with regards to significant disposals required in exchange for giving the green light to existing and future state capital investment. When you consider that Lloyds bank currently holds the brand names of Cheltenham and Gloucester, Halifax, Bank of Scotland as well as Lloyds bank itself, it is not difficult to see that the company could well be forced to sell off one or more of these particular banking operations.
The company itself appears to be readying itself for this particular event although trying to guess what the EU commission may or may not decide is a very difficult game to play. However, it will be interesting to see whether UK banks are allowed to operate on a level playing field compared to their European counterparts.
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