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\t\tLloyds Bank published its half-year update on Thursday.\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tThursday 30 July 2026 7:26 am\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tLloyds Bank published its half-year update on Thursday.\t<\/p>\n
Lloyds Banking Group beat its profit forecast for the first half of the year as the bank\u2019s top boss<\/a> laid out plans to make further cost savings in the years ahead. <\/p>\n The FTSE 100 lender<\/a> \u2013 which owns the Bank of Scotland and Halifax \u2013 recorded a \u00a34.3bn pre-tax profit in the first half of 2026, breezing past an internal analyst target of \u00a34.1bn. <\/p>\n The figure was up 23 per cent from the \u00a33.5bn scored in the same period last year. <\/p>\n The rise was supported by a nine per cent jump in net interest income to \u00a37.3bn after the bank re-invested lower-yielding hedges at current higher market interest rates. This strategy alone \u2013 known as structural hedging \u2013 generated \u00a33.4bn in total during the half-year.<\/p>\n Lloyds unveiled a new share buyback of \u00a31bn for the period, which follows on from a \u00a31.75bn programme announced at the start of the year. Its interim dividend was hiked 30 per cent to 1.58p per share marking around \u00a3920m in returns. <\/p>\n Costs remained broadly flat year-on-year at \u00a34.9bn as the bank pointed to its near \u00a32bn in cost savings and lower severance costs as helping offset business growth spending and inflation. <\/p>\n Nunn\u2019s next set of plans for Lloyds <\/p>\n Charlie Nunn, the bank\u2019s chief executive, revealed plans for the group\u2019s new four-year strategy dubbed Accelerate 2030, that will see the bank aim to deliver another \u00a32bn in cost savings by 2030 through leveraging AI to increase productivity.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tBarclays profit surges as equity traders cash in on volatility<\/a><\/p>\n When Nunn first joined the bank in 2021 \u2013 his first time running a listed company \u2013 he set out to spend \u00a34bn on diversifying away from high street banking in a bid to become less reliant on interest income, which at the time were at a low of 0.1 per cent amidst the pandemic.<\/p>\n The plan was announced on 24 February 2022, the same day Russia invaded Ukraine \u2013 a move that sent global rates soaring.<\/p>\n Nunn also set his sights on wealth management, with a push to galvanise the mass affluent market. In the first half of 2026, the group\u2019s Insurance, Pensions and Investments division posted a near 20 per cent rise in income to \u00a3818m. The bank specifically pointed to its move to acquire the remaining 49.9 per cent stake of its wealth tie-up with Schroders in October<\/a>, which brought a total \u00a317bn in assets under administration firmly under the bank\u2019s umbrella.<\/p>\n But the new strategy comes amidst a stiff backdrop for UK banks with calls for new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to target the sector for a tax grab.<\/p>\n The Trades Union Congress (TUC) and left-wing members of Parliament renewed these demands this week after Barclays revealed a 30 per cent jump<\/a> in profit to \u00a33.3bn in the second quarter of the year. The bank also put \u00a31.3bn towards its bonus pool for the first six months, up from \u00a31bn the year prior. <\/p>\n Barclays boss\u2019 CS Venkatakrishnan warned against the move, stating for every \u00a31 off capital the bank has, around \u00a38 to \u00a310 is lent to business and households supporting growth. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n