Trending: Lloyds Banking Posts Slower 2Q

1140 GMT - Lloyds Banking Group is among the most mentioned companies across news items over the past six hours, according to Factiva data. The British bank--which has a reputation for being a barometer for the U.K. economy and is the country's biggest mortgage lender--posted lower-than-expected second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance for net interest margin and return on tangible equity. "Despite something of a slowdown in the second quarter as was largely expected, for the half-year as a whole Lloyds has again shown its financial mettle," interactive investor says, noting the bank's balance sheet is clearly in rude health and that it raised its interim dividend. Lloyds also increased its provision for non-performing loans, with Chief Executive Charlie Nunn commenting that its customers are "experiencing significant challenges given inflationary pressures and higher interest rates." This partly contributed to shares dropping to the bottom of the FTSE 100 on the back of the results which AJ Bell attributes to uncertainty around the impact of mortgage affordability pressures. These are justifiable concerns over the economic outlook, CMC Markets UK echoes but adds that the lender's profitability still looks strong and its margins healthy. Dow Jones & Co. owns Factiva. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2023 07:55 ET (11:55 GMT)

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