Halifax to disappear from UK high street as Lloyds axes bank brand after 173 years

Lloyds Banking Group will retire the Halifax brand from UK high streets after 173 years, replacing it with Lloyds branding across England, Wales and Northern Ireland from next year, the lender confirmed on Tuesday. The group will stop opening new accounts under the Halifax name and begin migrating existing customers to Lloyds branding over the coming days [1]. Signage at the 190 Halifax-branded sites will be dismantled from early 2027, though no branches will close as a result of the changeover [1]. Lloyds has operated under three brands — Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland — since January 2009, when it rescued the combined Halifax-Bank of Scotland group with £20bn in taxpayer cash [1]. Bank of Scotland will be retained for customers in Scotland [1]. Halifax was founded as a building society in the West Yorkshire town of the same name in 1853 [2]. By 1913 it had become the UK's largest building society and maintained that position until 1997, when it demutualised [2]. The lender converted to a public limited company, Halifax plc, in 1996 and merged with Bank of Scotland in 2001 to form HBOS [2][3]. The HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006 later transferred Halifax's assets and liabilities to Bank of Scotland plc, making Halifax a trading division of that entity [2][3]. Bank of Scotland itself was established by an act of the Parliament of Scotland in 1695 and is the oldest operational bank in the country [4]. It is the fifth-oldest extant bank in the United Kingdom and the longest continuous issuer of banknotes in the world [4]. The bank became a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group on 19 January 2009, when HBOS was acquired by Lloyds TSB [4]. Lloyds' consumer relations boss Jas Singh said customers would retain their sort codes and account numbers. "As Halifax changes to Lloyds, our Halifax customers will keep everything they know and love today — the same fantastic app design, the same friendly faces in our branches — even the same sort code and account number. But as Lloyds customers, they'll get the best innovation and experiences we offer," Singh said [1]. The decision follows a branding review launched earlier this spring and comes weeks before chief executive Charlie Nunn is due to announce a strategic plan alongside half-year results at the end of July [1]. The group has 531 branches overall [1].