Lloyds to reduce share of mortgage market

Shares in UK financial giant Lloyds Banking Group, which is 41 per cent-owned by the UK tax payer, took a hit following reports that the company is about to slash its share of the UK mortgage market by three percentage points. The plans, which would see the bank's share reduced to 25%, are said to have been announced by Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osario during a call with analysts on Tuesday. Simultaneously, Horta-Osario is planning to build the bank's share of retail deposits by two percentage points to 25%, to balance it with the firm's mortgage market share. A Lloyds spokeswoman is reported to have said: "The retail deposit market continues to be highly competitive, and the costs of deposits remain high. However, given that retail deposits remain cheaper than wholesale funding, we see it as sensible to continue to grow our deposits further." The call followed the announcement of Lloyds's first-quarter results which revealed the company was back in the black despite huge numbers of payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. Pre-tax profits came in at £288m compared to a massive loss of £3.47bn in the first three months of last year. On Wedneday the share price fell 4.11% to 32.22p by 15:08. NR