Lloyds slump after making £3. 25bn loss

Lloyds made a £3.25billion first-half loss against a £1.3billion pre-tax profit a year ago, mainly due to the charge to cover compensation for industry-wide mis-selling of payment protection

insurance. Its shares ended yesterday 4p lower at 35p, wiping £2.7billion off the bank’s value and making a quick sale of the Government’s 40 per cent stake – bought at 63p a share after a

bailout – less likely. Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio declined to speculate about when ministers might sell the stake but said Lloyds had cut state support ahead of plan, from

£97billion in late 2010 to £37billion today. ** CLICK HERE TO CLAIM A FREE COPY OF ONE OF OUR MONEY & FINANCE GUIDES ** He said: “It’s up to the Government to decide when they want to

sell but it is up to us to implement and deliver the strategy and return the bank to profit.” Horta-Osorio said Lloyds had strengthened its balance sheet and performed resiliently despite

economic woes in the UK, which he said was facing a long and slow recovery. It is focusing on core UK businesses by selling non-core assets such as ­shipping interests and Irish housing and

commercial real estate. It sold £31billion of non-core assets in the half, reducing the total to be sold to £162billion. It plans to simplify the business and focus on growth areas such as

small and medium-sized ­businesses, foreign exchange and debt capital markets. Lloyds said it was “not overly concerned” about its eurozone debt exposure, which it said equated to about 2.5

per cent of its balance sheet. Horta-Osorio said the eurozone’s problems were worsening but added: “The euro is a political project and I’m sure eurozone leaders will take appropriate

measures to stop the ­crisis from ­escalating.” Lloyds was saddled with billions of pounds of losses after buying HBOS in a 2008 rescue deal brokered by the ­government. EU regulators have

forced it to sell more than 600 branches in return for its bailout. Lloyds is thought to be talking to six parties, of which two – new bank venture NBNK and the Co-op Bank – have formally

expressed interest. It hopes to find a buyer by the end of this year.