Advertisement
UK markets closed
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.62
    +20.64 (+0.26%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,884.73
    +74.07 (+0.37%)
     
  • AIM

    743.26
    +1.15 (+0.15%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1702
    +0.0008 (+0.07%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2620
    -0.0002 (-0.02%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    55,374.18
    -452.55 (-0.81%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,254.35
    +5.86 (+0.11%)
     
  • DOW

    39,807.37
    +47.29 (+0.12%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    83.11
    -0.06 (-0.07%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,254.80
    +16.40 (+0.73%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,369.44
    +201.37 (+0.50%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • DAX

    18,492.49
    +15.40 (+0.08%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,205.81
    +1.00 (+0.01%)
     

Lloyds bank posts biggest half-year profit since 2009

FILE PHOTO: Customers use ATMs at a branch of Lloyds Bank in London, Britain, February 21, 2017. Picture taken February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo (Reuters)

By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group's biggest half-year profit in eight years and an increase in interim dividends after emerging from government ownership was clouded by costs for past misconduct. Britain's largest retail bank reported a statutory pretax profit of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.28 billion) on Thursday, about 4 percent higher than last year. The modest increase in profit, which was below analyst expectations, was driven by higher revenues. But it was tempered by a higher-than-expected bill for compensating customers mis-sold loan payment insurance in what is Britain's costliest consumer scandal. The bank set aside a further 700 million pounds to compensate people mis-sold the insurance policies, nine months after saying it had hopefully drawn a line under the issue. Lloyds, seen as a bellwether for the British economy, said that although the economy remains resilient the bank is starting to tighten lending standards in consumer finance. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund downgraded its 2017 economic outlook for Britain by more than any other rich nation. Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio gave his strongest indication yet that he would remain at the bank, having faced repeated questions from analysts and investors in recent months over his future after the landmark exit from government ownership. "I enjoy the job, I like the people at Lloyds, I have no intention of going anywhere," he told reporters on a conference call. The shares were down 0.5 percent at 0705 GMT. Lloyds said the new charge to compensate customers mis-sold loan insurance should be the last major provision until the end of the claims deadline in 2019. This was another blow to Lloyds whose earnings for years have been drained by costs related to conduct issues, and takes the bank's total cost to cover the mis-selling of payment protection insurance to about 18 billion pounds. Lloyds also agreed to pay 283 million pounds in compensation to mortgage customers who incurred fees after they fell behind with their mortgage payments. Horta-Osorio said the bank will never completely stop having to pay customers for misconduct such as mis-selling, but that the levels should fall over time. Total income rose 4 percent to 9.3 billion pounds. Lloyds said it would pay an interim dividend of 1 pence per share, up 18 percent on last year. The bank said its net interest margin - the difference between the interest it gets from borrowers and what it pays savers, a key revenue driver – had widened to 2.82 percent from the last quarter. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill and Lawrence White; Editing by Rachel Armstrong/Keith Weir)