Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket, will open bank branches in 30 of its stores by the end of 2009 as part of a massive assault on the financial services sector.

The branches, which are likely to be called Tesco Bank, come as the retailer gears up to launch a current account, which it hopes will attract customers who are disillusioned and distrustful of existing high street banks and their high fees.

The launch comes at a time of widespread public anger over the excessive bonuses taken by many banking executives, and follows the part-nationalisation of RBS and HBOS. The chief executive of Tesco Retailing Services, which is overseeing the push, said that the supermarket's bank will be "old-fashioned and conservative".

"Some banks have grown up using practices that are the opposite of Tesco – we encourage customer loyalty but many banks punish loyalty, they get people in with low rates and then make money. Ours is a different philosophy," he says. Customers will be able to gain Clubcard loyalty points through using the bank.”


telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/5067042/Tesco-to-launch-bank-branches-and-current-accounts.html