By Graham Brown

THE LLOYDS TSB takeover of HBOS dominated last night’s full meeting of Angus Council amid fears that the local ramifications of the deal could be job losses across the district.

Both financial firms have a high street representation in almost all of the Angus burghs and an emergency motion put forward by Angus Alliance administration leader Bob Myles called for the council’s chief executive to write to both banks seeking clarification of the employment implications within the local branch network as soon as possible.

At a local level, councillors also backed a suggestion by Arbroath member Alex King that the council should write to managers of local branches of each firm offering the authority’s support to staff.

HBOS is also the authority’s bank and the council’s top financial officer was able to tell elected members that he had been given an assurance at local level that it is very much “business as usual” in the immediate wake of this week’s dramatic events.

But with HBOS employing 17,000 Scottish staff and Lloyds TSB 7000, councillors echoed the fears which have already been voiced that the £12 billion tie-up could lead to wholesale job cuts.

Mr Myles said the swiftness of the merger and the circumstances surrounding it posed many serious questions and his motion will also see the council pursue clarification on the siting of the new headquarters for the banking firm, seek the continuation of the name Bank of Scotland within the organisation and demand the retention of Scottish bank notes.

“What does concern us here in Angus are the implications for the people that live and work here with these organisations,” he said.

Montrose councillor David May said questions also surrounded the role played by the Financial Services Authority, but agreed that the fate of local staff was the key concern at district level.

“They have effectively been pushed into a marriage by speculators,” said Mr May.

“I have concerns for banking customers as competition will be less, and I have real worries for staff in Angus as most of our burghs have both an HBOS branch as well as a Lloyds TSB branch.

“What decisions will be made about the retention of staff and branches in all our burghs?

“I am sure everyone in the chamber can really appreciate and empathise with what the staff must be feeling at this time as their future is, at best, uncertain,” added Mr May.

Angus corporate services director Colin McMahon told councillors that he had already spoken to the local branch in the wake of this week’s developments and the authority had been in touch with its treasury management advisers and assured that deposits with HBOS remain safe.

He said the council’s contract with HBOS runs until the end of March next year and tender documents have recently been issued to a number of banks who have declared an interest in taking up the authority’s business.