RE: RE lloyds shareholders4 Sep 2018 08:02
Asperger's - not a problem. BTW I don't subscribe either.
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I used to be a big, big fan of Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY). I applauded the sterling restructuring efforts that chief executive António Horta Osório conducted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to de-risk the bank and rebuild the balance sheet, work that eventually led to dividend reinstatement back in 2014 and the sale of the final tranche of government shares last year.
Sure, Lloyds still had the problem of legacy issues like the payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal to deal with. But I believed that the more responsible approach to its operations, allied with its key role in the British retail banking sector, made it a great pick for those seeking sustained (if modest) earnings — and thus dividend — growth year after year.
Bad news
However, all that changed when the UK electorate decided to hit the Brexit button in the summer of 2016. The long-term economic impact of withdrawal from the European Union wasn’t the only thing for the bank to contend with, as the uncertainty around how London’s self-imposed exile from the bloc would play out in the short term also created trying conditions for the FTSE 100 firm.
These troubles are already playing out for Lloyds. Latest data from the Bank of England released this week showed the number of mortgage approvals in the UK dropped to £3.2bn in July, the lowest figure since April 2017. The figures reflect increasing nervousness from homebuyers in the run-up to March’s EU exit date as well as advice from Threadneedle Street that additional interest rate rises could be just around the corner.
murkier for all of Lloyds’ lending operations, not just in the mortgage arena where it is the country’s largest loans provider. The Bank of England said that the rate of growth in total consumer borrowing had dropped to 8.5% last month from 8.8% in June, with the amount of new borrowing reversing sharply to £800m in July from £1.5bn the month before. It also marks a severe deterioration from April, with lending last month more than halving from the £2bn forked out three months earlier.
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