Halifax Bank Ownership and UK Banking Updates

Halifax Bank has a complex ownership structure, with its parent company being the UK's largest mortgage lender, Halifax Bank of Scotland's parent company, HBOS, being acquired by Lloyds Banking Group in 2009. This acquisition created a massive banking group.

Lloyds Banking Group is a major player in the UK banking sector, with a long history dating back to 1765. The group's roots can be traced back to the foundation of Lloyds TSB in 1995, which was formed by the merger of Lloyds Bank and TSB Group.

As part of Lloyds Banking Group, Halifax Bank operates as a subsidiary, offering a range of banking services to its customers. The bank's history dates back to 1853, when it was founded as a building society.

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In 2001, a massive consolidation wave in the UK banking market led to Halifax merging with the Bank of Scotland in a £10.8billion deal.

The new group, named Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), was formed with headquarters in Edinburgh and retained both Halifax and the Bank of Scotland as brand names.

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Halifax branches outside of Scotland use the Bank of Scotland brand for business banking.

In Ireland, the Bank of Scotland (Ireland) rebranded its retail business as Halifax in 2006, citing the Irish public's exposure to Halifax advertising.

The HBOS Group Reorganisation Act 2006 aimed to simplify the corporate structure of HBOS and was fully implemented on 17 September 2007.

The Halifax brand name was retained as a trading name after the Act, but Halifax plc no longer exists as a legal entity.

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Halifax is stepping up the price war in the high street with a new current account offering 4% interest, which is expected to cost the bank around £50 million in extra interest.

This new account is only available to those with a monthly income of more than £1,000 and is expected to attract millions of customers from rival banks.

The new account is set to launch in January, and Halifax hopes to double its share of the UK current account market by gaining two million new customers.

The share prices of rival banks, such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB, have already taken a hit, with shares falling by nearly 8% and 6% respectively.

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Halifax banking on 4% offer in high street war. The bank is hoping to double its share of the UK current account market by gaining two million new customers from the big four high street banks.

Over £10 billion was wiped off the value of the UK banking sector as a result of Halifax's aggressive pricing move. The share prices of the banks with the largest number of current account customers fell the most.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest, saw its shares fall by nearly 8 per cent, closing at £13.40. Lloyds TSB shares also plummeted, tumbling by 6 per cent to 621½p.

Halifax's new initiative, which offers 4 per cent interest, will cost the bank around £50 million in extra interest. The bank anticipates that close to half of its existing two million current account customers will switch to the higher interest account.

The new account is only available to those with a monthly income of more than £1,000. James Crosby, Halifax's chief executive, said the account would be attractive to millions of rivals' customers.

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Next year, new rules will force banks to be more helpful to customers trying to move bank accounts. Halifax is confident that its new account will be profitable, despite city analysts being less impressed.

Over three million private investors hold shares in Halifax, where shares fell 4 per cent to 525½p yesterday.

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Halifax's new head office was built at Trinity Road, Halifax, in 1973.

The distinctive diamond-shaped building was a notable feature of the bank's marketing material in the 1980s and 1990s.

Underneath the building is a specially constructed deedstore that was used to store property deeds for a one-off charge of £10.

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The Halifax was acquired by the Lloyds Banking Group in January 2009, amid falling share price and speculation about its future.

In 1995, the Halifax announced it was to merge with the Leeds Permanent Building Society and convert to a plc, marking a significant change in its ownership structure.

As part of this conversion, the Halifax floated on the London Stock Exchange on 2 June 1997, becoming the fifth largest bank in the UK in terms of market capitalisation.

Over 7.5 million customers of the Society became shareholders of the new bank, the largest extension of shareholders in UK history.

The Halifax's ownership has continued to evolve, with the acquisition of several other companies, including Clerical Medical Fund Managers in 1996 and Birmingham Midshires Building Society in 1999.

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The deregulation of the financial services industry in the 1980s saw the passing of the Building Societies Act 1986, allowing societies greater financial freedoms and diversification into other markets.

This act allowed building societies to demutualise and become public limited companies instead of mutually owned organisations, owned by the customers who borrowed and saved with the society.

The Abbey National demutualised in 1989, but the process wasn't repeated until the late 1990s, when most of the large societies announced demutualisation plans.

For more insights, see: Banking Act 1979

In 1995, the Halifax announced it was to merge with the Leeds Permanent Building Society and convert to a plc, a move that would eventually lead to the largest extension of shareholders in UK history.

Over 7.5 million customers of the Society became shareholders of the new bank, Halifax plc, which was the fifth largest in the UK in terms of market capitalisation.

The Halifax floated on the London Stock Exchange on 2 June 1997, a significant milestone in the bank's history.

As Halifax plc, the new bank continued to expand, acquiring Clerical Medical Fund Managers, a UK life insurance company, in 1996.

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Lloyds Banking Group acquired HBOS in January 2009, amid falling share price and speculation about its future. This acquisition led to significant changes in Halifax's current accounts.

In February 2009, Halifax replaced its basic 'Easycash' account with the 'Basic Account', which has no unpaid charges. This change was part of a broader overhaul of Halifax's current accounts.

All new standard current accounts now have zero credit and debit interest, and no paid and unpaid item charges. Halifax has also increased the ATM daily withdrawal limit to £500.

Halifax 'Standard current account' customers pay £1 per day for being overdrawn by up to £1999.99 within an arranged overdraft, and £2 per day for up to £2999.99 and £3 per day for over £3000.00. Unarranged overdrafts incur a fee of £5 per day.

These changes were implemented to all current account customers (except student accounts) from December 2009, causing significant media attention at the time. Consumer advocates like Martin Lewis and Which? urged customers to keep their accounts in credit or consider moving to an alternative bank.

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Halifax is stepping up the price war in the high street with a current account offering 4% interest, a move that could attract millions of customers from rival banks.

The new account is only available to those with a monthly income of more than £1,000 and is expected to cost Halifax around £50 million in extra interest.

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Halifax hopes to double its share of the UK current account market by gaining two million new customers from the big four high street banks.

The biggest slide in share prices was experienced by Royal Bank of Scotland, where shares fell by nearly 8% closing at £13.40.

Shares in Lloyds TSB also took a hit, tumbling by 6% to 621½p.

Halifax's chief executive, James Crosby, believes the new initiative will be profitable, but city analysts are less convinced.

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