Lloyds Banking Group will be the umbrella name of Britain’s biggest bank if the HBOS and Lloyds TSB merger goes ahead.
The identity, revealed in the Lloyds circular to shareholders, signals the likely end of Halifax Bank of Scotland, which has existed in its current form since 2001 when Halifax and Bank of Scotland agreed a £28 billion merger.
Bank of Scotland began life in 1695 when it became the country’s first bank after an Act of the Scottish Parliament.
Lloyds said the new name, to be used once the proposed acquisition of HBOS completes in mid January 2009, was “intended to be an inclusive representation of all the brands that will sit underneath it.”
No decisions have been made regarding the individual HBOS brands at this stage.
It emerged last week that HBOS executives will miss out on most of the top jobs when Lloyds completes the takeover, as Lloyds announced nine of the top posts would go to its people.
The only two HBOS executives to net top jobs are Harry Baines, set to become general counsel and company secretary of the new entity, and Jo Dawson, who will become director of the newly-created Wealth and International division.
The enlarged company is to be run by the current chief executive of Lloyds TSB, Eric Daniels, and its chairman Sir Victor Blank.
It is expected that Archie Kane, in line to become Group Executive Director of Insurance, would be the sole member of the senior executive team based in Edinburgh.
