1,700 UK bank jobs to be axed

Around 1,700 jobs are to go at two major UK banks as part of a widescale restructuring by their Australian-based owner, it emerged today.

National Australia Bank said the cuts at the Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks - due to take place over the next 12 to 18 months – are necessary to make its UK operation “more nimble and customer-focussed”.

The group employs around 10,300 people in the UK, including at 217 branches of Glasgow-based Clydesdale and at 232 outlets of Leeds-based Yorkshire.