Lloyds Banking Group is expected to confirm the closure of all 164 branches of its Cheltenham and Gloucester mortgage and savings subsidiary, putting dozens of jobs in Kent at risk.

C&G has six branches in Kent -
High Street, Maidstone; Bank Street, Ashford; The Parade,
Canterbury; Mount Pleasant Road, Tunbridge Wells; High Street,
Sidcup; and High Street, Bromley.

Those branches are part of a
nationwide network employing around 1,500 people.

Lloyds, which had to be bailed out
by the Government after its damaging takeover of HBOS, is thought
to be keen to retain the C&G name but sell its mortgage
products through brokers and financial advisers.

Thousands of jobs are expected to
go following the troubled takeover. Lloyds has already cut
2,600.

Lloyds declined to comment before
it had formally announced the decision to staff. But Derek Simpson,
general secretary of the Unite trade union, said: "News that Lloyds
is to close hundreds of Cheltenham and Gloucester bank branches,
resulting in hundreds of job cuts is nothing short of
disgraceful.

"It will rip the heart out of
hundreds of local communities up and down the country as customers
see their valued community bank branch close."

Meanwhile, Lloyds is expected to
repay about £2.56billion to the Government after raising
£4.3billion by selling new shares.

Sir Victor Blank, the beleaguered chairman of Lloyds, said:
"We've got a major merger that's beginning to show results."