Back-office staff at Lloyds TSB had to work frantically this afternoon to smooth out glitches with its internet banking service after a connectivity problem left customers unable to access their accounts.

The bank said it had trouble with the website all afternoon, eventually identifying the problem as a connectivity fault between it and some ISPs that it was able to fix in-house.

A Lloyds TSB spokeswoman stressed that it was not a server or a software problem but simply down to incompatibilities it had with some ISPs.

The bank declined to single out any particular ISPs.

"Several customers have contacted us since lunchtime to complain they have been unable to access their accounts through the website. The problem turned out to be a connectivity fault between us and some internet service providers and was fixed as of 4.25pm," a Lloyds TSB representative told vnunet.com.

The bank recently redesigned its website and has been promoting it heavily through TV advertising.