Lloyds Banking Group has targeted an additional one million pension customers by 2020
Lloyds Banking Group wants to maximise its capabilities and add an additional one million pension customers as well as increase its financial planning and retirement open book of assets by more than £50bn by 2020.
The group has outlined its plans in a three year strategic review. The group, which includes pension provider Scottish Widows, said that it wants to deepen customer relationships, grow in targeted segments and better address its customers’ banking and insurance needs as an integrated financial services provider. It wants to implement an integrated financial planning and retirement proposition with a single customer view.
Group chief executive António Horta-Osório said that over the last six years the group has made huge progress and has built many strong capabilities including the largest and top rated digital bank in the UK. He said that as the bank enters the next phase of journey its team is determined to further improve the business, enhance customer experience and deliver superior shareholder returns. He added that the external environment is evolving rapidly and he is confident that this exciting and ambitious plan, with the significant additional investment, will mean the bank remains at the forefront of UK financial services, and continues to deliver its mission of Helping Britain Prosper.
The announcement about plans comes after reports that talks to merge Lloyds’ Scottish Widows subsidiary with Standard Life Aberdeen’s pensions and assurance business broke down late last year, following a dispute about the structure of the new business. As a result, Horta-Osorio cancelled a £109bn investment contract with Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA), according to reports.
In the year Lloyds returned to full private ownership, the group reported its statutory profit before tax increased 24% to £5.3bn in 2017, while underlying profit rose by 8% to £8.5bn. Additional PPI provisions of £1.7bn and conduct costs of £865m were taken last year, with Lloyds saying this figure reflects increased complaint levels, including the impact of the first FCA advertising campaign for the August 2019 industry deadline.
In May last year, the government sold its last shares in Lloyds. The government had pumped in £20bn eight years back to save the bank.