Lloyds Bank’s profits in the lift as lender’s mortgage book surges to £293bn
Lloyds Banking Group has become the latest lending giant to post a bumper annual profit haul after releasing Covid loan loss provisions thanks to the UK’s economic recovery.
The group has reported pre-tax profits surging to £6.9bn in 2021, up from £1.2bn the previous year after releasing Covid loan loss provisions thanks to the UK economic recovery.
The lending giant said results were boosted as it booked a £1.2bn credit from provisions for bad debts, having set aside £4.2bn the previous year, while it also benefited from a boom in mortgage demand.
Lloyds said its mortgage book surged £16bn to £293.3bn last year.
The group said it would buy back £2bn of its own shares and pay a final dividend of 1.33 pence a share.
But it revealed charges for past misdeeds of £1.3bn over the year, with a £775m hit in the fourth quarter, including £600m for the HBOS reading scandal, which took place before the financial crisis.
Recently appointed chief executive Charlie Nunn unveiled what he called an “ambitious” strategy alongside the results, promising a “significant shift” towards growth, more diversified revenues, greater efficiency and investing further in data and technology.
“2021 has been a year of solid financial performance.”
Chief executive Charlie Nunn
He added: “I am confident that the group’s purpose, customer focus, unique business model and significant competitive strengths, embodied in our ambitious strategy, will ensure the group is able to deliver higher, more sustainable long-term returns and capital generation for our shareholders, whilst meeting the needs of broader stakeholders.”
The figures cap a slew of impressive results from the major players in the sector, following profits of £8.4 billion at Barclays, HSBC’s mammoth 18.9 billion US dollar (£13.9bn) earnings and £4bn in operating profits at NatWest.