UK supermarket, Tesco, is planning to open 30 branches of its ‘Tesco Bank’ within existing chains before the end of 2009.

After running a trial in Glasgow since 1996, three more Tesco Banks will open in April in the UK cities of Brislington, Blackpool and Coventry, with the remaining 27 will be opened by the end of the year.

The banks are expected to be branded Tesco Bank and will offer existing Tesco Personal Finance products, which include insurance, credit cards and savings accounts, as well as a terminal for TescoCompare.com.

The supermarket chain also plans to open current accounts within the next 18 months, but plans to expand into mortgages have been put on hold due to the economic downturn.

“It is about getting the right products out at the right time. We have no timescale in place for mortgages,” explains a Tesco spokesperson.