Significant changes in the three Community Banks
Today, Miles Ravenhill announced significant changes to the management structure of Lloyds Banking Group’s three Community Banks as part of its ongoing transformation strategy.
Key Changes
Regions and Pools
- The number of Regions in the UK will reduce from 10 to 8, with 7 Regions in England & Wales now containing both Lloyds and Halifax branches.
- Pools will decrease from 111 to 75, with each Pool also including a mix of Lloyds and Halifax branches, except in Scotland, where Pools will consist solely of Bank of Scotland branches.
- Pool sizes will vary between 7 and 20 branches, though some will shrink further as they include branches scheduled for closure in 2025.
Impact on Roles
- These changes primarily affect Regional Directors, their office staff, Senior Managers, and Branch Managers in grades D and E.
- No grade A, B, or grade C Bank Managers colleagues are at risk of redundancy.
Grade C Branch Managers
- Community Bank plans to increase the presence of grade C Managers in branches over time, creating 20 new grade C roles.
- The intention, over time, is that there will be a dedicated Branch Manager in every branch.
- Future branch closure programmes are expected to accelerate this objective.
Strategic Implications
LBG recently attracted media attention following comments by Jayne Opperman about customers being able to use any branch within the Group, regardless of the brand. Today’s announcement is likely to spark further scrutiny, particularly regarding potential acceleration of branch closures.
Additionally, Community Bank has more decisions to make, including:
- Expanding the use of Multi-Channel branches.
- Providing operational support to other parts of the Group beyond Personal Banking.
Other Announcements
Relationship Support Colleagues
- Grade B Relationship Support colleagues will report to Community Bank Managers from 12 May 2025.
- Their job title will change to Customer Support, reflecting the evolving focus of their roles.
- C grade Branch managers outside London will move from PG3 to PG4 from May when the new structure is live. Anyone below the new pay range minimum will receive an pay uplift at that time.
Accord’s Role
Accord has agreed to meet with Miles Ravenhill to explore a skills-based reward approach for grades A and B colleagues. The first meeting is scheduled for early February 2025.
As always, Accord is committed to supporting members through these changes and ensuring that the interests of colleagues are prioritised.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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