Lloyds Bank swung to an interim profit and reinstated its dividend on Thursday after a large impairment credit, driven by an improved UK economic outlook.
The company reported pre-tax profit of £3.9bn as it released £837m set aside for bad debts amid the Covid pandemic. Lloyds posted a £602m loss last year at the height of the crisis where it set aside billions to cover potential bad debts.
Net income rose 2% to £7.6bn while the net interest margin, the difference between savings and lending rates, fell 9 basis points to 2.5%.
A 0.67p a share dividend was declared.
In a separate statement, Lloyds said it was buying Embark Group, an investment and retirement platform business, for £390m.
