HBOS, the bank formed by the merger of Halifax and Bank of Scotland, is to recruit hundreds of staff in an attack on the small business banking market in England and Wales, currently dominated by the “Big Four” high street clearers.
The new bank, which makes its debut on the London stock market today, will put small business bankers in Halifax branches, backed up by call centres and processing operations north of the border, using the Scottish bank's expertise.
Bank of Scotland had made some inroads into the English and Welsh small business market, but was limited by the absence of a branch network in these regions.
Halifax has already made progress on personal accounts by paying much higher rates of interest, an approach matched in the summer by Bank of Scotland. HBOS will offer a range of new products to small business customers, undercutting the “Big Four” on charges and paying higher rates of interest on balances.
