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* Bank aims to restore profitability after IT issues
* Lender does not disclose expected job cuts
* Owner Sabadell's 2015 bet on TSB soured
(Adds details, background)
By Jesús Aguado and Lawrence White
LONDON/MADRID, Nov 25 (Reuters) - British bank TSB will
close 82 branches next year, about 15% of its total, as part of
a turnaround plan aimed at achieving total cost savings of 100
million pounds ($128 million) by 2022.
The bank, whose roots go back about 200 years, was bought by
Banco Sabadell for 1.7 billion pounds in 2015 as the Spanish
bank sought to expand into Britain and secure higher revenues.
The move backfired when IT glitches sent TSB's costs
spiralling, forcing Chief Executive Paul Pester to resign amid
complaints from customers and lawmakers over the fiasco.
Under the new strategy, Pester's replacement Debbie Crosbie
will follow a blueprint set by larger rivals like Lloyds
and RBS, reducing branches and ploughing money
into digital channels to fend off upstart online rivals.
The bank did not give details on potential job losses from
branch closures affecting its almost 8,000 staff in Britain.
Announcing its mid-term strategy for 2019-22, TSB said it
expected savings to help improve its cost-to-income ratio by 15
percentage points by the end of the plan, as it attempts to turn
a profit after last year's loss.
TSB said it was aiming for a profit after tax of 130 million
to 140 million pounds by 2022, from a breakeven position now.
Restructuring charges will amount to 180 million pounds.
Since Sabadell bought TSB in 2015, the outlook has darkened
amid uncertainty surrounding Britain's planned departure from
the European Union and due to low interest rates, making it
tougher to deliver a quick turnaround from last year's IT
problems.
Sabadell Chairman Josep Oliu said this year TSB needed first
to cut costs before potentially becoming a candidate for a sale
or taking part in any consolidation in Britain.
Oliu said TSB was not expected to contribute positively to
group's earnings until 2020.
TSB was hit by fresh IT problems on Friday that meant
thousands of customers woke up to find wages and vital payments
had not reached their accounts.
The IT failure came just days after TSB was heavily
criticised in a law firm report for its handling of last year's
crash, which locked nearly two million customers out of their
accounts.
($1 = 0.7794 pounds)
(Reporting By Lawrence White in London and Jesús Aguado in
Madrid; Editing by Jose Elias Rodriguez and Edmund Blair)
