More calls made for cap on Lloyds branch sales

Another call has been made for a cap to be put on the number of Lloyds' branches being put up for sale, in order to speed up their transfer to new competitors in the high street banking sector.

The head of banking consolidation vehicle, NBNK Investments, Gary Hoffman, reiterated previous statements made by bosses at the Sir Richard Branson-owned Virgin Money, claiming that increasing the number of branches being sold could turn out to be counterproductive.

Mr Hoffman said that the current sell-off of 600 branches – which was ordered by the European Commission in return for the taxpayer aid the company has been given – is more than enough to create a formidable competitor.

"If there are more [branches] available then that is fine, but time is more important to us than size," he said. "The crucial thing is that we get on and do that quickly, and I think the number of branches mandated by the EC enables us to create a competitor force and grow from there. I would not be encouraging delay in order to increase the number of branches."

The current package of branches on offer includes the 185 Lloyds TSB branches in Scotland, as well as nearly 400 branches of Lloyds TSB and Cheltenham & Gloucester in England and Wales.

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