socialmedian: Union fears for 25,000 jobs as EU insists Lloyds and RBS must shed branches

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Union fears for 25,000 jobs as EU insists Lloyds and RBS must shed branches

Source: guardian.co.uk Politics

Nov 03, 2009

Summary

More than 900 branches, representing 10% of the high street banking network, are to be put up for sale in the next four years under a radical restructuring demanded by the EU in return for almost £40bn of government aid for Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Finance union Unite warned that 25,000 branch jobs were at risk as a result of the sales. RBS admitted the move created uncertainty for 6,000 of its staff and 1.7m retail customers. It came as HSBC announced it would cut another 1,700 jobs at its branches.

The demands from the EU on Lloyds would have been even greater if the bank, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, had not managed to convince the Treasury that it could raise £21bn from its shareholders in order to leave the asset protection scheme (APS), under which the government insures toxic assets.

Alex Potter, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, described Lloyds' ability to avoid asset protection, and a further increase in the government's stake, as "independence day". If it had been forced to join the scheme, the taxpayers' stake in Lloyd

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