Tesco Bank

Headquartered in Edinburgh, Tesco Bank is the UK's most successful supermarket bank. It has over six million customer accounts across 28 products and services. Key product areas are:

• Insurance - motor, home, travel, dental, health, life and pet - over half a million pets are insured with Tesco

• Credit cards and personal loans - 1 in 10 credit card transactions in the UK is on a Tesco credit card

• Personal saving products - Tesco Instant Access Savers can save as they shop in over 550 Tesco stores

• Tesco Compare - online insurance and utilities comparison site

• ATMs - £1 in every £8 in a customer's pocket comes from a Tesco ATM

• 130 Travel Money Bureaux nationwide within Tesco Stores, offering instant foreign currency

Tesco Bank sells its 28 products and services through multiple channels, including in-store, by telephone and online. Approximately 60% of new sales come through online.

Tesco Bank was launched as 'Tesco Personal Finance' in 1997 as a joint venture between Tesco and Royal Bank of Scotland. In 2008, Tesco acquired the remaining 50% RBS shareholding for £950m and Tesco Bank is now fully owned by Tesco Plc.

In October 2009, Tesco Personal Finance began using the trading name Tesco Bank, in recognition of its longer-term objective of creating a full-service retail bank for Tesco customers, offering a range of banking and insurance services through branches, in stores and online.

While the bulk of Tesco Bank's activities are focused in the UK, it also offers a selection of financial services and products in other countries in which Tesco has a presence, namely Ireland, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Malaysia.

Tesco Bank currently has over 500 members of staff, with nearly 450 in Scotland. It will also be opening additional offices in Glasgow and Newcastle in 2010.

*Data correct as at January 2010