Britain's banking job hotspots revealed

"These figures shatter the myth that only a narrow part of Britain benefits from banking,” said Anthony Browne, chief executive of the British Banking Association (BAA).

“In fact two thirds of jobs created by this industry are based outside the M25. These are diverse jobs ranging from good entry-level positions for those without direct banking experience to highly-skilled, technical roles."

The BBA, who carried out the research into banking jobs, said that Cardiff and Manchester each generated more than 1,000 new bank posts in just three years.

Over the same period, the number of banking industry jobs in Lewisham and Chilten both rose by over 70pc, in Reigate and Banstead by 60pc and in the North Wales town of Wrexham by 48pc.

These figures compare favourably with the City of London, which created 32pc more jobs from 2009 to 2012, and Westminster, which created 28pc more jobs over the same three years.

The BBA’s research showed that a number of leading banks have been creating new roles outside of London, bolstering the jobs figures in Britain's regions.

Since launching, Virgin Money created around 1,800 jobs in Newcastle and 200 jobs in Norwich, while 72pc of Handelsbanken's 1,216 new roles since 2008 have been outside of London.

Mr Browne said: “It’s heartening that as the recovery takes hold there are good grounds to suggest that communities across Britain will benefit from jobs created by this vital industry.”

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