Lloyds confirms return to profit

Lloyds Banking Group is back in the black.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed that it has returned to profit in the first six months of the year.

In its financial results for the six months to the end of June, the firm revealed that it made £2.1 billion, which compares with the £456 million loss it made last year.

Lloyds also stated that it increased its lending by one per cent – or £3 billion, over the first half of the year. The bank is currently 39 per cent owned by the UK government, but chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne is looking into selling those shares in the near future.

Speaking to BBC News, Gavin Oldham from stockbrokers Share Plc stated that there is likely to be an institutional placing with retail to follow.

"I would have thought that Lloyds would be quite keen to do that initial placing with the institutions as soon as possible, so we may see an announcement today, perhaps £5bn [worth of shares] or more," he added.

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group are up today (August 1st) on the back of its profits news.

At 08:45 BST, stocks were trading almost 6.5 per cent up on the start of the day's trading.

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