BRITAIN'S banking industry workforce is likely to be halved within the next 10 years, a report claimed.

The forecast of widespread job cuts was made in a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit and accountant and consultancy firm Coopers & Lybrand.

"The consumer of the next century will demand banking services which meet the demands of a vastly different lifestyle from that of today," the report said. "Reductions of up to 50 per cent will not be uncommon."