Halifax
Halifax is a trading name of Bank of Scotland, now a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. Halifax is used as the brand name for Bank of Scotland branches in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The bank was previously Britain's premier biggest building society, known as the Halifax Building Society, before it demutualised in 1997. It later agreed to a "merger of equals" with Bank of Scotland to form a holding company, HBOS, after a long period of financial consolidation in the UK. Halifax has traditionally been the UK's largest provider of residential mortgages and saving accounts.
In 2008, after HBOS ran into difficulties, Lloyds TSB announced a £12.2 billion takeover of the bank. Combined, they now have over a quarter of the UK mortgage market and a large proportion of the banking and business markets.
