Lloyds to cut 9,000 jobs as banking drifts online

Lloyds Banking Group confirmed today that it would close 200 bank branches and lay off 9,000 staff as more customers switch to mobile and online banking.

The group, which owns the Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands, announced that the cuts would take place within the next three years.

Lloyds reported pre-tax profits of £1.61 billion for the nine months to 30 September. According to the BBC, the group is setting aside another £900 million pounds to cover possible payouts related to the PPI mis-selling scandal. In total, PPI compensation has cost the banking group over £11 billion.

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The job cuts at Lloyds represent a reduction of more than 10 per cent of the company's workforce of 88,000 and come as the group moves to further "digitise" banking, Sky News reports.

Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio said: "Over the last three years the successful delivery of our strategy has ensured that we have become a safe, highly efficient, UK-focused retail and commercial bank.

"The next phase of our strategy will use these strong foundations as a basis for meeting the rapidly-changing needs of our customers, and sets out how we will grow the business in a way that will deliver increasing and sustainable returns for our shareholders."

Mobile and internet banking now account for transactions worth nearly £1 billion a day, according to research published by the British Bankers' Association in July. More than 15,000 people per day are downloading banking apps, BBA's research shows.

Lloyds is still part-owned by the British government, which holds a 25 per cent stake in the bank. The government has reduced its holding from 39 per cent in two separate share sales since September last year.

In June, Lloyds sold the TSB Bank through an initial public offering to appease European Commission competition authorities.

On Monday, shares in Lloyds Banking Group fell by more than 2 per cent after the company passed European stress tests by the narrowest of margins, The Guardian reports.