LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - State-backed Lloyds BankingGroup reported a jump in first-quarter profits on theback of improved margins and lower costs on Tuesday, and raisedthe amount it expects to save from shrinking the bank.
Lloyds said costs in the first quarter fell 6 percent from ayear ago and it expects to cut costs to about 9.15 billionpounds in 2014, a reduction of 2 billion pounds from 2010 anddouble its target when it laid out its restructuring plan.
Lloyds, 39 percent owned by the UK government, reported an underlying profit of 1.48 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) for thefirst quarter, up from 497 million a year ago.