Civic pride

The future is expected to be gloomy for some HBOS staff With banking jobs at risk, the future of the West Yorkshire town of Halifax was made clear in the local newspaper's leader column. "The town of Halifax might find itself less and less important as a financial centre, with loss of jobs and prestige," it said. "This process of marginalisation is the biggest single worry." The views were not published during the current financial crisis but on 10 September, 2001, as HBOS - a merger of Halifax and Bank of Scotland - began trading. Now, with HBOS in the throes of a takeover by Lloyds TSB and the government set to take a stake of about 40% in the new superbank, the fears of job losses have resurfaced. Conservative leader David Cameron was in Halifax on Monday. What he would find is that in Halifax, as in Bingley - the home of... [read full story]