Halifax remains unsure of plans

HALIFAX has not reached a final decision on whether to pull out of the Irish market and is continuing to review its operations.

Lloyds, which owns Halifax, is understood to have got instruction from the British Treasury to cease lending in Ireland and repatriate assets.

The move is the result of a group review which was started after the British government came to the rescue of Bank of Scotland Ireland’s Edinburgh-based parent bank, HBOS, last September by forcing it to merge with Lloyds TSB.