IVA & Debt Consolidation Advice

Lloyds TSB have announced a modest 4% rise in pre-tax profits, announcing at the same time that its retail business in the UK has been hit by bad debt.

Profits from their retail arm fell by 7% as increasing numbers of customers struggled with bad debts.

Lloyds TSB is the biggest issuer of unsecured loans in the UK. Following a year which saw record numbers of personal bankruptcies in the UK, it’s perhaps no surprise that their retail profits have been dented.

Lloyds TSB revealed that the amount of money it had to set aside for bad loans increased by a third, and suggested that they expected further deteriorations in its retail business.

Lloyds TSB has tried to respond to its problems in the consumer market by launching a £ 275 million cost-cutting drive, with the shedding of 2,700 jobs.

With the current slowdown in personal borrowing, as UK consumers try to repay their £ 1.17 trillion in combined debts, it seems likely that Lloyds TSB’s problems will exacerbate further during 2006.