New efforts to save bank jobs; Yorkshire Minister in talks after merger

Huddersfield Daily Examiner (Huddersfield, England), Jan 22, 2009

Byline: By HENRYK ZIENTEK Business Reporter

RENEWED efforts to safeguard the jobs of thousands of HBOS workers in Yorkshire are under way following the bank's merger with Lloyds TSB.

Rosie Winterton, Minister for Yorkshire, and Tom Riordan, chief executive of development agency Yorkshire Forward, met top Lloyds Banking Group executives yesterday to continue pressing for jobs in the region to be retained.

The meeting in London came on the day that shares in another major bank, Barclays, lost more than a fifth of their value as the sell-off in the banking sector showed no sign of easing.

Barclays shares plunged by 21% as investors continued to flee the financial sector amid doubts over the Government's second bank bailout and because of fears that more UK institutions will need to be nationalised.

Lloyds fell a further 14% after Tuesday's 31% plunge, which was prompted by speculation that the group could be the next to become majority-owned by the Government.

Royal Bank of Scotland continued to recover from its earlier losses to rise by 6%- after warning on Monday that it expected to reveal the biggest losses ever seen in UK corporate history.

The wider FTSE 100 Index also took a battering, down 1.7%.

Ms Winterton said she was encouraged by continued talks with Lloyds' group executive director for UK retail banking, Helen Weir, and directors Helen Rose and Rosa Wilkinson on how the merger would affect Yorkshire.

The minister said the bank had already signalled that Halifax will continue to be a key brand under the umbrella of the newly-created group.

"Yorkshire staff of the new banking group in the region can be confident that we are making a strong case," she said.

"I will continue to work with Yorkshire Forward and others to keep up the momentum and press for the best possible outcomes for Yorkshire and Yorkshire jobs."

Mr Riordan said: "We are pleased with the progress that has been made in building good relationships with key decision-makers in Lloyds TSB and believe we have presented a compelling case for Yorkshire."

He said further meetings would be held to discuss in detail the strengths of the workforce and locations in Yorkshire.

CAPTION(S):

MEETING: Yorkshire Minister Rosie Winterton and Tom Riordan; IN TALKS: Lloyds TSB bosses are having talks over jobs