Lloyds TSB Group saw its shares fall today today after it warned of higher retail banking bad debts amid a UK consumer slowdown.
Lloyds TSB shares were down 1.5 per cent to 468 pence earlier. The British lender's shares were the third-biggest losers in Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 index in early trading as all UK bank stocks dropped.
The retail banking bad debt charge will rise in the first half as customers struggle to repay, and consumer loan growth will be slightly slower than in recent years, Lloyds TSB said.
The group's loan-loss charge will be comparable with a year earlier because of lower corporate provisions and lending and deposit growth are satisfactory, it added. Group revenue will grow faster than cost, the UK's fifth-biggest bank added.
With UK households feeling the pinch from interest rates and higher bills, investors are concerned that Britain's banks could face stagnant revenue and rising bad debts. Rival Barclays warned last month that bad debt provisions were rising ahead of forecasts because of credit card arrears.
Lloyds TSB is trying to revive revenue growth after relying on acquisitions and cost cuts in the 1990s. Chief executive Eric Daniels, who took over two years ago, wants to sell more products through the core UK retail bank and to Lloyds TSB's corporate customers.