Bank to Cut 3,000 Finance Jobs

The job cuts followed up to 4,000 made in 2005, but the bank said they were the result of natural attrition and not part of a major redundancy programme.

In a trading statement before its results for the 2006 financial year, to be published in February, Lloyds said it was on track to make pre-tax profits of £3.7bn, up 7% on a year ago. At a time when the sector is rife with speculation that Barclays could be taken over by Bank of America, Lloyds TSB quashed rumours it might be preparing to split its operations by selling its Scottish Widows insurance arm.

Helen Weir, finance director, described the Edinburgh-based arm as a "core part of our business". When asked again whether the group would be hived off she said: "It does sound like it's not for sale."

The bank continued to be dogged by the number of customers applying for individual voluntary arrangements to control their debt repayments. In its statement, Lloyds said: "The rate of growth in bankruptcies has shown some very early signs of moderating, however IVAs continue to increase."