LLOYDS Bank’s decision to cut hundreds of jobs will send “shock waves” through communities reliant on local branches, finance staff warned today.

Trade union Unite criticised the decision of Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) to get rid of 780 full-time consultancy, customer-service and managerial roles across the country.

The redundancies, expected to fall between June and October this year, represents 6.25 per cent of the bank’s overall British workforce of 70,000.