Lloyds Banking Group is set to retire the Halifax brand, bringing an end to the 173-year-old name that has long been a fixture of UK high streets.

As part of the move, the banking giant will no longer offer new accounts under the Halifax name and will begin transferring existing customers to Lloyds-branded accounts in the coming days.

HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland), which comprises Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, came together in 2008–09 as part of a government-brokered deal for Lloyds to rescue the group with the help of £20bn in taxpayer funding, but has now admitted defeat.

The decision, first reported in May, means Lloyds will become the group’s sole brand in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with Bank of Scotland remaining for customers in Scotland. However, in a swift attempt to reassure customers, the bank has confirmed that the move will not affect account numbers, sort codes or FSCS protections, and no branches will close, they will simply be rebranded as Lloyds.

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 Lloyds’ consumer relations boss, Jas Singh, said:

 “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.

“Our Lloyds customers are already benefiting from a significant investment into propositions like Club Lloyds, Lloyds Premier, Lloyds Ultra and Lloyds Rewards – and now we’re really excited that Halifax customers can bank on Lloyds for more.”

For most of us born before the turn of the millennium, we’ve witnessed a radical transformation of our high streets, and Halifax marks yet another familiar name disappearing. Perhaps the community hit hardest will be the residents of the West Yorkshire town from which the bank takes its name. In 1853, The Halifax Permanent Benefit Building Society was founded in Halifax, West Yorkshire, to help working people save money and buy their own homes. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Halifax grew into the UK’s largest building society through rapid expansion and acquisitions.

Perhaps the first nail in the coffin came in 1997, when members voted to demutualise, meaning Halifax ceased being owned by its members and became a publicly listed bank called Halifax plc. Arguably, since then the beloved British institution has been slowly travelling the long road to goodbye. Now, as Halifax prepares to join the graveyard of once-familiar high street names alongside Woolworths and Abbey National, many Britons are once again left asking: where have all our high streets gone?

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