In June it was announced that the bank would close their Cheltenham & Gloucester branches in November, although it said that the intermediary mortgage brand would still be available to brokers.

However, the closure of the 164 high street branches would have meant making a further 928 staff redundant at the banking giant.

Over 7,000 Lloyds jobs have been axed since the HBOS merger late last year, with predictions that job losses could reach 25,000 once the integration with HBOS is complete.

Unite said the announcement that Lloyds was reviewing its planned closure of the Cheltenham & Gloucester network would lead to the workforce questioning “whether their bosses have any long-term strategy.”

Rob MacGregor, the Unite national officer, added: “Unite finds it wholly unacceptable that Lloyds changes its mind on the future of their staff as fast as the summer weather in this country.”

Lloyds has reportedly refused to comment on the decision, maintaining that customers will continue to use the Cheltenham & Gloucester as usual.   

According to the Telegraph newspaper, bankers have said that the change in strategy could be down to European regulators voicing competition concerns. This could mean that Cheltenham & Gloucester might be sold, rather than closed, lessening the bank’s dominance in the UK mortgage market.

Lloyds Banking Group currently accounts for a third of the market in mortgages and deposits.