A sign hangs outside a Lloyds Bank branch in London, Britain, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melvillereported flat annual profit for 2022 on Wednesday, as a jump in income driven by higher interest rates was offset by mounting bad loan provisions.
Britain's biggest mortgage lender reported pretax profit of 6.9 billion pounds , unchanged on the prior year and in line with analyst forecasts compiled by the bank. The bank announced it would pay a 1.6 pence per share final dividend and a share buyback of up to 2 billion pounds, taking total shareholder returns for 2022 up to 3.6 billion pounds., steep energy and food bills are still pinching household budgets and have raised the risk of people defaulting on loans.
Lloyds set aside 1.5 billion pounds over the year to cover potential defaults, compared to a 1.4 billion pound release of provisions in 2021 as the economy rebounded from COVID-19 lockdowns. Lloyds' revenue leapt 14% to 18 billion pounds and it raised its medium and long-term outlook for returns. It is now targeting a return on tangible equity in excess of 15% by 2026, having previously targeted more than 12%.