Lloyds is said to have contacted several leading property consultants to close as many as 700 of their newly-combined group of premises when the £12 billion deal is completed.

The number of ensuing redundancies has been put as high as 40,000 although that was branded "ridiculous" by Lloyds TSB's chairman Sir Victor Blank.

The news comes amid demands for HBOS and Lloyds bosses to come clean over job fears.

The Evening Courier has launched a campaign to keep key jobs and services in Halifax after the HBOS takeover and joint leader of financial services union Unite Derek Simpson has written to both banks' chiefs demanding they end the speculation and reassure staff.

Mr Simpson said: "It's now time for Eric Daniels and Andy Hornby to come clean, sit down with the unions and begin a meaningful and transparent dialogue.

The union is warning that staff morale is at an all time low, with more than 140,000 staff still in the dark about their employment.

Mr Simpson says he has made clear that he is prepared to meet with the banks' chief executives at any time.

Lloyds TSB chief Eric Daniels has confirmed an unspecified number of jobs will be axed.

The Courier is galvanising support to protect the town from unprecedented job losses and is calling for high street banking operations of the enlarged company to stay here.

Meanwhile it has been reported that speculators made £190 million by trading HBOS shares shortly before the Lloyds TSB take over was made public.

City watchdogs are expected to investigate the buying of more than 20 million HBOS shares in two deals at 96p each before the deal was announced and shares rocketed to 215p.

An HBOS spokesman said: "We take our market disclosure responsibilities very seriously.

"We believe that our statement was issued as expeditiously as possible. It is important to remember that the current volatility in bank stocks is almost unprecedented."