Lloyds TSB Reports 70% Drop In Profits
Profits at Lloyds TSB, one of the leading UK banks, fell by 70% for the first half of 2008 with the bank reporting a figure of £599 million compared to £1.99 billion for the same period last year. While the bank has been hit by the credit crunch, Lloyds offers the least overseas diversification of any of the UK majors, something which is starting to worry analysts a little.
In a show of confidence which looks to be wasted on the City the group increased the dividend payment by 2% but it was more the tier one capital strength ratio, down from 7.4% to 6.2% in just six months, which caught the eye of most. More worrying is the fact that the fall in the ratio occurred at a time when the full impact of the worsening credit crunch has not yet been felt. There was some surprise that Lloyds TSB has not yet tapped the market for extra finance to shore up the balance sheet, but if things get any worse then they may have no choice but to return to shareholders.
The UK banking sector is very much under pressure and while these figures are bad they look set to get a whole lot worse as the full impact of the slowdown in the UK economy really hits home.
Share this..
Related stories
When would you like to retire?
The subject of the UK retirement age has been in the headlines this week with the UK government loosening the regulations regarding statutory retirement thereby allowing people in the UK to work beyond their 65th birthday. But how long would you like to work before you are able to retire? While the headlines would appear to be in favour of employees in the UK the truth is that the UK government...
Read MoreSuccess for unfairly treated bank customers
More than eight out of ten people have successfully reclaimed money from their banks due to unfair overdraft charges, new research claims.According to Which?, 85 per cent of its 2,200 survey respondents had a portion of the money they claimed for refunded.But the consumer watchdog insists that the proportion should be closer to 100 per cent if customers persisted with their banks.Emma Bandey, pers...
Read MoreMarch sees house prices up 6.7 per cent
House prices in England and Wales increased by an average of 6.7 per cent in March compared to one year ago, the sharpest rise in almost four years.Research from Hometrack found that average house costs increased by 0.8 per cent in March after a 0.7 per cent rise in February, boosting the overall inflation of homes. However house prices in London grew by 1.8 per cent in March, the sharpest monthly...
Read MoreWhy is the UK attracting investment speculators?
Suggestions at the weekend that the UK could attract a raft of speculators after the election on Thursday are causing significant concern within government. However, there is some confusion as to why speculators may well be targeting the UK and what is in it for them. The simple fact is that confusion, in the event of a hung parliament, is exactly what speculators feed on and they are likely to...
Read MoreMake sure you your investment risks compliment your investment profile
Over the last few weeks we have seen a number of instances whereby investors have invested their money into markets and products which were ultimately at odds with their own investment profile and investment risk factor. One such instance involved Edward and Celia Platts who allegedly took advice from Barclays bank regarding the investment of £300,000 from their property sale only to find that a...
Read More