Ex-Rock CEO to rebrand new venture in fresh assault on high street

NBNK Investments, the banking venture run by former Northern Rock chief Gary Hoffman, will call itself the New Generation Bank if its bid to buy more than 600 Lloyds branches proves successful.

If the new venture succeeds in buying 632 Lloyds Banking Group branches - it is currently vying with the Co-Operative Group in the final round of the auction - it would become the UK's seventh-biggest lender, according to Sky News.

The name New Generation Bank was decided upon after NBNK - set up last year to acquire assets from tax-payer backed institutions - conducted extensive consumer research.

Findings suggested bank customers are enthusiastic about the arrival of a new player on UK high streets which would compete with established brands such as Barclays, Halifax and Natwest.

NBNK is also expected to continue using the Cheltenham & Gloucester and Intelligent Finance brand, at least for a transitional period. 

Hoffman, former chief executive of bailed-out bank Northern Rock, has pledged New Generation Bank, or NGB, will rejuvenate the sector at a time bankers face growing antipathy from the public.