Reuters has reported that the future of Lloyds Banking Group, the banking giant formed by the hurried takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB, may be in jeopardy. The news agency has stated that a ruling by the EU Commission could see the forced break-up of the bank resulting in the total or partial sale of [...]
Mindful that it could fall foul of EU regulations, Lloyds Banking Group is reported to be offering to sell two of its regional branch networks. The government-brokered takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB last September flouted UK competition rules and left Lloyds Banking Group 43% state-owned. The European Commission is still considering the terms of [...]
Hundreds of Halifax outlets could be axed as the integration of Lloyds TSB and HBOS continues. According to reports, the merged Lloyds Banking Group is considering the closure of over 300 agency “counters”, which are operated under licence by third parties such as solicitors and estate agents. The counters offer only a limited range of [...]
The chairman of Lloyds Banking Group has admitted that the pace at which HBOS’s losses have mounted has come as a surprise. Speaking to the BBC, the outgoing Sir Victor Blank described the losses as “at the worst end of expectations”, adding that when the merger was announced in September of last year it felt [...]
Lloyds Banking Group has posted a pro-forma loss of £4 billion for the first half of 2009. The pro-forma format of the results has been adopted to reflect the impact of the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB and allows for certain adjustments. Consequently a pre-tax profit of £6 billion has also been reported for [...]
The Lloyds Action Now group is demanding the release of notes on key conversations that took place between Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Lloyds TSB chairman, Sir Victor Blank, in connection with the takeover of HBOS. The doomed merger, which was announced in September, has left the resultant Lloyds Banking Group 43% state-owned because of [...]
Lloyds Banking Group could be faced with writing down up to £13 billion for the first six months of 2009, The Sunday Times has reported. According to the newspaper, the 43% state-owned bank is facing huge loses on its commercial property, business and mortgage books. In 2008, the troubled group’s HBOS subsidiary posted a £10.8 [...]
A former employee of HBOS has claimed that prior to the credit crisis up to 80% of the group’s mortgage applications were accepted without full proof of income. Michael Bolton was once managing director of BM Solutions, a specialist lending unit of Birmingham Midshires that deals with intermediaries. Speaking to Money Marketing magazine recently Mr [...]
A UK court has found against a customer who sued his bank after being held liable for withdrawals from cash machines, which he claims he did not make. So called “phantom” withdrawals occur when money is withdrawn at bank ATMs without the card holder’s permission and where card details have not been revealed to third [...]
A company is to be set up by angered Lloyds TSB shareholders at 11.45 am on Friday June 5 in Glasgow. The launch time has been picked specifically to coincide with the AGM of Lloyds Banking Group Ltd, formed after the controversial merger between Lloyds TSB and struggling bank HBOS. Lloyds Action Now Ltd has [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is preparing for a further round of job cuts, trade union Accord has reported. Around 530 posts are to go across the UK; a Halifax processing centre near Chatham in Kent will close with the loss of 210 jobs; 30 posts will disappear in London and the same number in Birmingham. In [...]
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group have been under pressure since the bank warned that its merger with HBOS could still fall foul of EU regulations. At worst, the group could be forced to sell parts of the business, including core elements. The government-brokered takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB last September flouted UK competition rules [...]
The Government is said to be talking to investors about the possible sale of its stakes in Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland. Sovereign wealth funds are reported to be among those involved in negotiations with UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body set up to manage taxpayers’ interests in rescued banks. No radical [...]
The chairman of Lloyds Banking Group is to step down. Sir Victor Blank joined Lloyds TSB from Trinity Mirror Group in January 2006, replacing Maarten van den Bergh. Since the hurried merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS last year, both Sir Victor and Lloyds’ chief executive, Eric Daniels, have been under attack from shareholders. Lloyds [...]
In a trading update, Lloyds Banking Group has warned that writedowns on bad debt will rise during 2009. During the first three months of the year, impairment levels on the bank’s lending portfolios rose significantly, largely because of “the impact of the further economic deterioration, including the effects of rising unemployment, reduced corporate cash flows, [...]
The internet is becoming an increasingly popular medium for banking, according to new research by the Halifax (now part of Lloyds Banking Group). According to the bank, 68% of savers now have an online savings account, and official statistics from the ONS show that almost half (49%) of internet users engaged in online banking in [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is providing new electronic transfer methods for investors in Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). Transfers to Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Cheltenham & Gloucester ISAs can now be sent electronically via BACS, when previously savers had to make payments by cheque. Last year saw lengthy delays in the completion of ISA transfers between banks. [...]
Shareholders in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group are challenging events that have resulted in major losses for both institutional and individual investors in the banks. In the case of RBS, The Times has reported that local councils in Merseyside and North Yorkshire have joined forces to file a class action law [...]
