Lloyds Banking Group announced a major investment plan on Thursday, committing to spend more than £13 billion on digital services over the coming years as part of its strategy to make 'money simpler, safer and more connected' for its 28 million customers.
The FTSE 100 lender set out its plan, called Accelerate 2030, alongside its half-year results, which showed a 23 per cent increase in statutory profit before tax to £4.3 billion for the first half of 2026. Net interest income rose 9 per cent to £7.3 billion, lifting total net income by 9 per cent to £9.7 billion.
The bank attributed the profit improvement to higher overall revenues and cost-cutting, and pared back its allowance for expected loan losses slightly to £3.3 billion. The profit figure was ahead of expectations, with the bank's chief executive, Charlie Nunn, highlighting 'sustained strength in financial performance, with continued income growth, improving operating leverage, strong credit performance, growing capital generation and increasing shareholder returns'.
Lloyds will increase its interim dividend by 30 per cent to 1.58p per share and start a £1 billion share buyback programme. The bank will also double the size of its relationship team arranging loans for small businesses and deliver new loans of more than £45 billion.
The bank is set to launch a new smart wallet, built on technology acquired through its takeover of Curve, a mobile app that provides a digital wallet for multiple debit and credit cards. The app allows customers to switch payments to different cards after making a purchase, to save on any credit fees incurred accidentally, and has rule-setting capabilities helping ensure certain types of transactions are only issued through certain channels.
Lloyds will also develop an in-app transport platform to create a market for vehicle finance, leasing, insurance, energy, mobility and servicing products. The bank aims to deliver gross cost savings of about £2 billion by deploying technology to automate processes and improve the productivity of its workforce.
The strategy follows a series of decisions to consolidate the group's retail operations, including the closure of 95 further branches between May this year and March 2027, which will leave it with 610 sites. The bank is set to double the size of its portfolio of rental homes to 20,000 and will cut the time it took customers to complete a home purchase 'from weeks to days'.
Nunn and William Chalmers, the chief financial officer, presented the results and the updated strategy to investors at 9.30am on Thursday. Accelerate 2030 covers the period from 2027 to 2030 and is built around what the bank described as reimagined customer experiences, increased group connectivity and a productivity step-change.
