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\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tThursday 30 July 2026 2:28 pm
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\t\t\tThursday 30 July 2026 3:08 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
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The boss of Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to wield the axe on its cost base as the bank doubles down on AI ambitions.<\/a><\/p>\n Charlie Nunn, the chief executive of the financial services giant, said AI is \u201cgoing to impact work\u201d and \u201crequire us to reskill people and hire new people\u201d as he revealed a new strategic plan for the blue-chip lender.<\/p>\n Nunn is targeting around \u00a32bn in cost savings by 2030 as part of a new plan dubbed Accelerate 2030.<\/p>\n The banking chief is aiming to reduce the group\u2019s overall cost-to-income ratio to less than 45 per cent in 2030, which will mark a drop from 50 per cent in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n He said the bank had already achieved around \u00a32bn of \u201cgrowth cost savings\u201d in its previous five-year strategy by reshaping its office footprint, improving technology and \u201coperational and efficiency changes\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThose kinds of levers will continue in front of us,\u201d Nunn said, without sharing details on whether this would lead to more job losses.<\/p>\n Across the industry, bank bosses have been blunt about the impact of AI on the jobs market.<\/a><\/p>\n Georges Elhedery, HSBC\u2019s chief executive, said AI will \u201cdestroy certain jobs and will create new jobs,\u201d meanwhile JP Morgan\u2019s Jamie Dimon has said it will \u201creduce jobs down the road\u201d.<\/p>\n Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley predicted in May that AI-driven job losses<\/a> across the European banking sector could reach 400,000, double its initial forecasts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lloyds to \u2018follow customers\u2019 on branch network <\/p>\n \u201cWe see AI\u2026 in a pretty balanced way,\u201d Nunn said, adding around 50 per cent of the bank\u2019s work with the technology would be about \u201cdifferentiating and extending what we do for customers into new areas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe other 50 per cent is around helping our colleagues do their tasks more effectively and more efficiently,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tLloyds beats profit target as bank sets sights on more cost-cutting<\/a><\/p>\n The bank cut 1,600 roles in January 2024 and had since made several more rounds of redundancies.\u00a0<\/p>\n In September last year, it emerged the bank was putting its weakest performing five per cent, amounting to around 3,000 roles, at risk of redundancy.<\/a><\/p>\n Lloyds\u2019 branch network has also been ripe for the chop as part of the digital overhaul. The bank is set to close some 232 branches in 2026.<\/p>\n Nunn said that in-person sites would be an \u201cimportant part of our proposition\u201d going forward, but added the firm would \u201cfollow the customer and our customer data around our branches\u201d.<\/p>\n Lloyds integrates UK fintech Curve<\/p>\n The group will invest more than \u00a313bn in its digital services, which will include the launch of a new smart wallet. Lloyds snapped up Apple Pay rival Curve in November 2025, with the latter\u2019s services now integrated into the group.<\/p>\n The Curve brand will continue to take in new customers with no changes to the brand. City AM understands Curve founder Shachar Bialick will be stepping down from his role as chief executive of the fintech.<\/p>\n The new strategy is also set to support Lloyds\u2019 ambition around tokenised deposits, which refers to regular bank money being transformed into smart, digital tokens allowing instant movement and automated rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lloyds completed the UK\u2019s first public blockchain transaction using tokenised deposits earlier this year to purchase UK government bonds with an instant settlement.<\/p>\n Nunn said he was looking to leverage blockchain technology in a bid to slash the waiting time for mortgage approvals to around three days.\u00a0<\/p>\n