The bank – Britain’s largest mortgage lender – reported a profit before tax of £5.9bn for the first nine months of the financial year.
Like its rivals Barclays and HSBC, Lloyds had its results boosted by the release of cash that had been set aside for bad loans last year when the coronavirus pandemic clouded the economic outlook.
In Lloyds’ case, the amount was £84m over the past three months, meaning that a total £740m of the £1.2bn held during the pandemic has now been added back to the balance sheet.
Mortgage lending was up £2.7bn in the quarter and deposits also rose.
