Lloyds Announces £3.54bn Loss

Posted: 24/02/12 06:28  |  Updated: 24/02/12 07:12   PA

Lloyds Banking Loss

Part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group will move to reassure taxpayers that it remains on the road to recovery today despite announcing losses of £3.54bn for 2011.

Lloyds said its total bonus pool for last year was £375 million, down 30% against 2010.

The losses, which compare to a £281 million profit the previous year and are driven by a £3.2 billion hit to tackle the payment protection insurance scandal, are twice the size of those at fellow state-backed bank Royal Bank of Scotland.

The 41% state-owned bank has some way to go before delivering a decent return to the taxpayer as, at 36p, its share price is still nearly half the price tag of 63p a share paid by the Government for its stake.

In contrast to RBS, Lloyds, which has no investment banking arm, has managed to duck the bonus row so far, after its chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio waived his bonus following an extended absence due to ill health.

However, there were calls earlier this week for the Portuguese boss to repay some of his signing-on award after the lender decided to strip 13 directors, including former chief executive Eric Daniels of about £2 million in bonuses.

But like RBS, Lloyds is going through a massive overhaul, which will include around 15,000 job cuts and the EU-enforced sale of 632 branches - dubbed Project Verde.

The City will be looking for an update on how much this restructuring will cost the bank, which owns more than 2,000 branches in the UK, as well as any progress made on completing the sale of its branches to preferred bidder the Co-operative Bank.

Robert Law, senior banks analyst at Nomura, has predicted the so-called Project Verde sale will be a flop.

"The Project Verde disposal is likely to prove disappointing and involve a book value loss for Lloyds, as well as earnings dilution," he said.

"Lloyds named the Co-operative Bank as the preferred buyer last year, but has maintained work on an initial public offering as an option in case agreement is not concluded."

However, he said the core high street businesses were "relatively strongly positioned, with healthy market shares".

Mr Horta-Osorio, who returned to work last month after taking two months off due to severe sleep problems, said he acknowledged that his absence had an impact both "inside and outside the bank, including for shareholders".

Mr Horta-Osorio could have received a maximum of 225% of his annual salary, which equates to a total of £2.4 million, but chose not to take the payment.

Royal Bank of Scotland ran the gauntlet of public outrage yesterday as it unveiled losses of £2 billion and paid staff nearly £1 billion in bonuses.

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Part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group will move to reassure taxpayers that it remains on the road to recovery today despite announcing losses of £3.54bn for 2011. Lloyds said its total bonus pool...
Part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group will move to reassure taxpayers that it remains on the road to recovery today despite announcing losses of £3.54bn for 2011. Lloyds said its total bonus pool...
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13:45 on 24/02/2012
"Lloyds Post £3.5bn Losses"
That’s an awful lot of begging letters.

"a £3.2 billion hit to tackle the payment protection insurance scandal"
Not just a bailout for non-diligence related to lending then? But payouts for the victims of crime.

"Antonio Horta-Osorio waived his bonus following an extended absence due to ill health."
In all fairness, shouldn’t the stand-in have been eligible?

"preferred bidder the Co-operative Bank."
In order to avoid expensive rebranding when Lloyds hands over. In addition to reinforcing the notion of a different kind of banking. Can’t they just make the emblem a horse of a different colour?
10:12 on 24/02/2012
Same old story: private debt run up by the banks massively outweighs public debt, yet it's the taxpayers who are being told we must hold down the austerity pill. It's purely ideological, people.

The European Central Bank lends at 1% interest, however it is not allowed to lend directly to governments, so it gives the money to a European bank which then lends it to the governments of Greece of Spain at a far higher interest rate.
Hence, rather than being punished for destroying the economy, banks are being rewarded.

Another good example is Goldman Sachs. They were at the heart of the criminality that brought down the system. Mario Draghi, who worked for GS when they were selling dodgy default loans to the Greece government, is now head of the ECB.
The leaders of Greece & Italy are ex GS boys.
It's essentially a coup deta' by the banks over democracy.
09:14 on 24/02/2012
RBS loses thick end of £1b bonus's paid to top execs. Lloyds lose £3.5b bonus's paid to top execs. RBS is funded to the tune of £45b by tax payers and Lloyds is 41% state(tax payer) owned. Therefore if they make a loss bonus's are paid by the tax payer. Bankers and politicians caused the mess were in but don't seem to be effected by whats going on. I exclude ordinary bank workers because they have suffered more than most for their boss's short comings. I can see why firemen, police, nurses, ambulance drivers and teachers are so peed off at wage and pension cuts
northern git
fed up with all the political crap in life
08:44 on 24/02/2012
didn't someone say that we need to pay silly salaries and mega bonuses to get the best

if you have the best you just don't lose this sort of monies

and you do NOT give out bonuses.

considering we are supposed to be paying the best doesn't it seem a good idea not to pay the 'best' and get second or even third best in they certainly are unlikely to do worse

No profit = no bonus

pay back the bail out within a year or get foreclosure.

They would foeclose on you or me.
11:04 on 24/02/2012
Spot on, mate.
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breakingpoint
War is a Racket - Smedley Butler
08:06 on 24/02/2012
Bankers are like ... they won't stop...
http://youtu.be/O2KeBfy34mQ
09:57 on 24/02/2012
Absolutely brillian. Everyone who hates bankers should watch this. I feel so much better now.
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breakingpoint
War is a Racket - Smedley Butler
13:33 on 24/02/2012
the artists taxi driver and these
http://financialterrorists.org