HBOS plc (LSE: HBOS) (Halifax Bank of Scotlan) is a banking and insurance group in the United Kingdom, the holding company for Bank of Scotland plc, which operates the Bank of Scotland and Halifax brands; HBOS Australia, owner of BankWest; and HBOS Insurance & Investment Group Limited, the group's insurance division. Officially HBOS is an initialism not overtly standing for anything, although it is widely recognised to mean Halifax Bank of Scotland. The corporate headquarters of the group are in Edinburgh, Scotland; the old office of the Bank of Scotland. Operational headquarters are based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England; the old head office of Halifax.