Banking group creates 1,500 jobs

Banking group HBOS has unveiled plans to recruit more than 1,500 people over the next three years.

The jobs will be in HBOS’s business banking arm and cover a range of roles, from administrative staff through to bank managers and directors.

Colin Matthew, business banking chief executive, said the recruitment drive would help HBOS ‘‘challenge the face of business banking’’.

It would also allow the group to capture a ‘‘significant share’’ of the small to medium-sized enterprises (SME) market, he added.

HBOS was created by the merger earlier this year of Edinburgh-based Bank of Scotland and Halifax, based in West Yorkshire.

Bank of Scotland has about 33% of the business market in Scotland the arm already employs around 5,000 people but in Britain it has less than 3%.

Halifax is not a major player in business banking and the bulk of the 1,500 jobs will therefore be in England and Wales.

A spokesman said there was ‘‘huge potential south of border’’ for HBOS’s business banking division.

He also remained unfazed by the potential effects of economic slowdown on SMEs, commenting that the market was big enough to weather the storm.

Around 94% of all businesses are classed as SMEs.

HBOS is planning to get more than 750 people on board by the middle of next year.