Bailed out Lloyds returns to profit

Lloyds Banking returned to profitability in the first quarter and said it expects this momentum to be sustained throughout the rest of the year.The lender, 41% owned by the taxpayer, did not provide a profit figure in today's statement, but said it made a profit on a combined businesses basis due mainly to a significant downward trend in impairments. The run rate of impairments has continued to perform better than expected in both retail and corporate businesses, the group said. In the wholesale division, the level of impairments has been significantly lower than the last quarter of 2009 and is also at a lower level than initial expected for 2010. Income in the core banking businesses has continued to benefit from higher asset pricing and lower funding costs. Customer deposits have grown by over £5bn in the quarter, mainly in the retail division, while lending balances have remained flat overall. In the wealth business, income levels were supported by improved equity market conditions. Banking net interest margins are running in line with recent guidance of circa 2% for the full year. "The group is continuing to see positive trends in line with our recent trading update. In particular, impairments have slowed significantly in the first few months of the year giving us confidence that we will achieve a better financial performance than previously guided," said chief executive Eric Daniels."I am pleased to report that we returned to profitability in the first quarter and expect this momentum to be sustained throughout 2010," he added.Daniels said last month the part-nationalised bank will be profitable on a combined businesses basis this year, having announced a smaller than feared £6.3bn pre-tax loss for 2009 in February.