Lloyds to shed 15,000 more jobs

30th Jun 2011 07:36

Lloyds Banking Group, the part-nationalised high street behemoth, is aiming to shed a further 15,000 jobs and cut its presence in foreign markets by half.The announcement today comes as part of a review of the business by its new Chief Executive, António Horta-Osório.Other notable aims include an investment programme in new IT systems. This combined with the job cuts is likely to cost £2.3bn.Banking aficionados will also focus on the conservative posture Lloyds appears to be taking, with a stated objective of reducing its loan-to-deposit ratio to 130% from 154% and a return on equity target of 12.5 - 14.5%.Of course, banks never say: "we're going to take extreme risks with the nation's finances" but perhaps the chastening experience of 2008 has really muted the group's sense of adventure.The recent history of Lloyds is catastrophic. A rushed take-over of the massively over-exposed HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) group drove the company very close to bankruptcy in 2008, forcing the UK government to take a stake of almost 40% in the firm and making shareholders, who thought they had bought in to a low-risk conservative banking proposition, livid.Then the deterioration of the UK, and indeed the global economy, saw losses mount through 2009.Horta-Osorio will hope he can help Lloyds escape its past. In his statement accompanying the review he said:"Our aim is to become the best bank for customers.  We have around 30 million customers, iconic brands, including Lloyds TSB, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows, and high-quality, committed people.  We will unlock the potential in this franchise over time by creating a simpler, more agile and responsive organisation." Interestingly, the report also suggests Lloyds will be able to rid itself of the government's unwanted embrace by October 2012. It points out it has already paid back around £60bn in public money, nevertheless in banking terms, 2012 is not very far off and successfully hitting that target would be a significant achievement for the current management.In early trading, Lloyds was trading up 2.07p on the day at 46.73p.BS