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Bank of Scotland Bank
The Bank of Scotland bank merged with the Halifax in May 2001, creating HBOS plc; another major banking conglomerate and a trend for mergers which has been seen across the banking industry. In particular, the two companies benefited from their branch networks and different skills (banking and mortgages). They now offer a shared product line.
The combined group has 1100 branches mainly of course in Scotland and the North of England, and employs some 60,000 people worldwide.
As well as the usual retail and business banking services, the HBOS group includes Intelligent Finance- the online banking service, and esure, the online insurance product. In investments, the group also includes names you might know such as Clerical Medical.
All banks publish as much documentation as they can (it gets them lots of publicity) but the Bank of Scotland bank publications are well respected and worth a look. The Halifax House Price Index is the defining indicator of property prices in the UK (the Nationwide survey comes a distant second); and if you want specifically Scottish data, the Scottish Economic Index is worth a look.
In the community, the Bank of Scotland bank community activities includes a corporate sponsorship programme and the HBOS foundation which makes localised donations around the UK. It has contributed a little over £20 million in the past 5 years.
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