LYG Stock Recent News

Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax has ended its attempt to buck the trend of rising mortgage rates and instigate a series of rises on Friday. Halifax had been the outlier among the big mortgage lenders by cutting rates when others were raising them.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) and NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) are among the European top picks of the investment research team at Barclays following fourth-quarter and full-year results from the sector. Both are rated 'overweight' with Lloyds valued at 65p a share and NatWest 330p.

Annual results from Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) saw the shares fall in early trading before surging higher from late morning, with investors and analysts seeing several positives in the numbers.  On the downside, profits fell in the fourth quarter, but were in line with expectations despite a £450 million provision to cover potential costs of a motor finance probe from the Financial Conduct Authority.

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY) profits declined in the fourth quarter of 2023 and it made a £450 million provision to cover potential costs of a motor finance probe, but the dividend was hiked 15% and a £2 billion share buyback is planned after a strong year.  The UK's largest lender reported underlying pre-tax profits of £1.75 billion for the final quarter of the year, down 14% from the third quarter but in line with City estimates.

Lloyds Banking Group reported a 57% jump in annual profit for 2023 on Thursday, as Britain's faltering economy and a charge for potential costs from a regulatory review into motor finance failed to put a major dent in its performance.

Ex-dividends will reduce FTSE 100 by a meaty 16.40 points on Thursday morning but will be overshadowed quickly in the rush of big-name company announcements and reaction to Nvidia overnight.

Large UK lenders have been criticized once again for offering low rates on their easy access savings accounts. According to Moneyfacts, Barclays PLC (LSE:BARC), HSBC Holdings PLC (LSE:HSBA), Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LSE:LLOY), NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG), and Banco Santander (LSE:BNC) all offer gross rates of below 2% on savings worth £10,000 in flexible accounts.

After Natwest's bumper profits on Friday it is the turn of Barclays (Tuesday) and Lloyds (Thursday) to see if they can repeat the trick while the giant of the big four quartet, while Asis-focused HSBC, splits the pair on Wednesday. Lloyds is closest to Natwest in structure and the domestic markets it serves, so the good showing from its rival today should bode well.

After Close Brothers' shock scrapping of its dividend this morning, attention will turn to Lloyds Bank when it releases full-year results next week. Mid-tier bank Close decided on the dividend due to the probe into car loan finance currently underway by financial regulator the FCA and what the cost of any redress might be.