Do you think the Halifax will ever be a bank if it’s own again?

roadblock15

Do you think with tougher competition laws, that Halifax will one day become a bank of its own again and spun off from Lloyd’s Banking Group?

I remember a day when everyone was with the Halifax, the days of notable adverts - Halifax made adverts what everyone spoke about, think back to Howard Browns remake of Tom Jones’s sex bomb. They got people talking, and now it’s babyish cartoon adverts - and to think it’s the same ad company behind them what make the iconic Lloyd’s ads, ... it’s like they are intentionally giving Halifax crap adverts to focus more on Lloyd’s .

Halifax do have the nicest looking debit cards though but that’s about it.

EarthBoy

Halifax isn't even a business in its own right these days, let alone a bank, it's merely a trading name for Bank of Scotland plc, which is owned by Lloyds Banking Group.

I suppose, in theory, Lloyds could sell off, or demerge, Bank of Scotland, but it's very unlikely. For Halifax to become a bank in its own right again, rather than just being a trading name, it would have to be set up as a separate legal entity. An Act of Parliament was passed to absorb it into Bank of Scotland, so they'd probably need a new Act of Parliament to reverse that, although there may be alternative options under the Companies Act.

eDicky

There seems to be something missing in my life... I have have never once seen (or heard) an advertisement for a UK bank.

EssexExile

eDicky wrote: »

There seems to be something missing in my life... I have have never once seen (or heard) an advertisement for a UK bank.

I think that "something" is a television.

worried_jim

roadblock15 wrote: »

Do you think with tougher competition laws, that Halifax will one day become a bank of its own again and spun off from Lloyd’s Banking Group?

I remember a day when everyone was with the Halifax, the days of notable adverts - Halifax made adverts what everyone spoke about, think back to Howard Browns remake of Tom Jones’s sex bomb. They got people talking, and now it’s babyish cartoon adverts - and to think it’s the same ad company behind them what make the iconic Lloyd’s ads, ... it’s like they are intentionally giving Halifax crap adverts to focus more on Lloyd’s .

Halifax do have the nicest looking debit cards though but that’s about it.

You can't please all the people all the time.

jim1999

Given that Williams and Glyn was abandoned, no.

deadendwaterfall

roadblock15 wrote: »

Do you think with tougher competition laws, that Halifax will one day become a bank of its own again and spun off from Lloyd’s Banking Group?

I remember a day when everyone was with the Halifax, the days of notable adverts - Halifax made adverts what everyone spoke about, think back to Howard Browns remake of Tom Jones’s sex bomb. They got people talking, and now it’s babyish cartoon adverts - and to think it’s the same ad company behind them what make the iconic Lloyd’s ads, ... it’s like they are intentionally giving Halifax crap adverts to focus more on Lloyd’s .

Halifax do have the nicest looking debit cards though but that’s about it.

Remember their remake of Who Let The Dogs Out?

System

EarthBoy wrote: »

Halifax isn't even a business in its own right these days, let alone a bank, it's merely a trading name for Bank of Scotland plc, which is owned by Lloyds Banking Group.

I suppose, in theory, Lloyds could sell off, or demerge, Bank of Scotland, but it's very unlikely. For Halifax to become a bank in its own right again, rather than just being a trading name, it would have to be set up as a separate legal entity. An Act of Parliament was passed to absorb it into Bank of Scotland, so they'd probably need a new Act of Parliament to reverse that, although there may be alternative options under the Companies Act.

It wasn't an independent business during most of that time - it had already merged with BOS.

Given that most of the Halifax client base is outwith Scotland, the far more likely scenario is the customer base / brand are transferred to Lloyds Bank.

northwalesd

roadblock15 wrote: »

Howard Browns remake of Tom Jones’s sex bomb.

It's bad enough he's turned up on the Hotels.com advert

Halifax do have the nicest looking debit cards though but that’s about it.

I don't really get excited about debit/credit card design, but I can't say that the Halifax design is particularly thrilling.

jonesMUFCforever

The problem is that Lloyds banking group now is very profitable but the share price is the pits! (59p as I write).
Shareholder pressure might force the board to do something if it does not recover over the next 2 years or so - who knows?

Jlawson118

I can always remember the days of Howard on the TV and I was only young back then. I do remember my mum has always banked with Halifax and I used to ask her every time we visited the branch as a child if Howard would be there :rotfl:

I don't personally think they will split up and be a bank of its own again. I can bet if there are changes to be made, they'd be rebranded into Lloyd's Bank themselves. They are practically working from the same call centres as it is at the moment.

Two years ago I was a Christmas temp in a Royal Mail centre and I met a guy who worked for Lloyd's bank but he was working here for a bit of extra money. He told me in his little office where he works, worked two girls who worked for Halifax, whereas he worked for Lloyd's. This was the office where letters/complaints were dealt with if I remember correctly, and they were the ones who wrote the letter responses.