The Halifax brand, a fixture on British high streets for 173 years, is set to be phased out and fully rebranded under Lloyds Banking Group, the company confirmed on Wednesday. This change will see all Halifax customer accounts transferred to Lloyds over time, a process the group says will require no immediate action from customers.

Founded in West Yorkshire in 1853 as a building society, Halifax grew to become one of the UK’s largest mortgage providers and a significant presence in current and savings accounts. It ceased to be a building society in 1997 after floating on the London Stock Exchange. Subsequent mergers followed, including with Bank of Scotland, before being acquired by Lloyds Banking Group in 2009. Despite the Bristol-based parent company already owning multiple banking brands, the decision to retire the Halifax name reflects wider efforts to simplify the group’s brand portfolio, with Lloyds designated as the lead brand in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Bank of Scotland, also part of the group, will retain its branding without change.

Lloyds has been gradually reducing its physical branch footprint over the past decade. Earlier this year, it announced plans to close 95 branches between May 2026 and March 2027, including 31 branches operating under the Halifax name. The closures will leave the group with 531 branches across its Lloyds, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland locations, down from approximately 1,500 in 2015. Although some Halifax and Lloyds branches are already located near one another — with recent analysis identifying 178 such pairs — Lloyds has stated that no job losses are anticipated as a result of the brand consolidation.

Mortgage products currently offered under the Halifax name will continue to be available via intermediaries until 2027, after which they too will be rebranded as Lloyds products. Jas Singh, chief executive of consumer relationships at Lloyds Banking Group, emphasized that Halifax customers would retain familiar services while also gaining access to the wider innovations brought by the Lloyds brand.

The decision has prompted reactions reflecting the brand’s long history in the UK. Jenny Ross, a money editor, noted that many customers who have maintained accounts with Halifax for decades might feel the loss of this historic brand. The move marks the end of an era for a financial institution that has played a role in British banking for nearly two centuries.