A LLOYDS chief was forced to deny yesterday that the continuing presence of the Bank of Scotland's headquarters in Edinburgh was only a branding exercise that amounted to little more than "tea-making facilities on the Mound".
Archie Kane, the Scotland director for Lloyds Banking Group, which was formed after Halifax Bank of Scotland was taken over by Lloyds TSB, told MPs the bank would continue to have the largest number of branches in Scotland.
Mr Kane refused to give
a figure for the number of branches that would be lost as a result of the merger but signalled that the most likely casualties were areas where there were Lloyds TSB and HBOS branches virtually side by side. But he said this would depend on a number of factors, including how many customers each branch had, or whether a new site could be found for a merged branch.
Appearing before the Scottish affairs committee at Westminster, Mr Kane was challenged by the Tory MP Ben Wallace to demonstrate that the continued presence of the Bank of Scotland HQ on the Mound was more than a cosmetic exercise.
Mr Kane admitted there was little space inside the landmark building – it can accommodate only about 100 staff – but said Lloyds would trade as Bank of Scotland north of the Border and continue to print Scottish banknotes.
At present, the Lloyds group has 492 branches in Scotland, compared with Royal Bank of Scotland's 330. Mr Kane vowed that Bank of Scotland would still have the greatest number of branches after the changes to the company were completed in three years.
He said there would be job losses but was unable to give a figure, and maintained that the takeover of HBOS would prove a "very good commercial deal" in the medium term.
