The questions below should help to answer your immediate questions and concerns:
1. Is my branch being sold and what does it mean for me?
a. As a customer of Lloyds TSB in England or Wales, what will happen to me?
b. As a customer of Lloyds TSB in Scotland, what will happen to me?
2. Will I be allowed to transfer my account from the 'new bank' back to Lloyds Banking Group?
3. What if I use multiple branches? Will I be able to choose who to stay with?
4. Can I transfer to a branch that will definately stay?
5. Why can't you tell me if my branch is going to be sold?
6. Will my savings deposits still be covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme?
Capital raising announcement
On 3 November, we announced proposals to meet our current and long term capital requirements. If our proposals are approved by shareholders we will not participate in the Government Asset Protection Scheme.
Our capital raising proposals include a fully underwritten rights issue to raise a total amount of £13.5 billion (£13.0 billion net of expenses of the proposals). This means qualifying existing ordinary shareholders will be given rights to subscribe for new ordinary shares at a discounted price. We are contacting eligible shareholders over the next few days and weeks with details of the offer. If you would like more information on the rights issue please visit www.lloydsbankinggroup.com.
Shareholders can also call the relevant shareholder helpline.
We also plan to raise additional capital of at least £7.5 billion through separate Exchange Offers. Under the Exchange Offers, eligible holders of certain securities will be invited to offer to exchange such securities.
We have consulted with the FSA and structured these proposals based on our conversations with them. We will need to gain approval of our proposals from our shareholders at a General Meeting that we are holding on 26 November. We have already received confirmation from the HM Treasury that they will vote in favour of the resolutions to approve the proposals (on which they are able to vote). They have also confirmed that they will participate fully in the Rights Issue, in respect of their 43.4% shareholding.
Future restructuring plans
We announced on 3 November that we have now finalised the terms of a restructuring plan with the European Commission. We previously announced that we have had to work with the HM Treasury to submit a restructuring plan to the European Commission because we received funding from the government.
We expect to receive a formal decision from the Commission about our restructuring plan by the end of 2009.
As a condition of receiving Government support, we expect that we will need to reduce our market share of personal current accounts by 4.6% and also reduce our mortgage assets by up to 19%. This is a requirement from the European Commission.
Because of this we need to prepare to sell a stand-alone banking business which will meet these requirements.
This stand-alone business will include:
In total this package amounts to at least 600 branches.
We recognise that this announcement may create uncertainty for some of our customers and colleagues. We’re still waiting for a formal decision from the Commission and at this stage can’t be certain what the outcome of the restructuring proposal will be. The restructuring could take up to four years to complete so until that time we’d like to reassure everyone that it is very much business as usual. We will continue to offer competitive, good value products and, as always, provide excellent customer service.
We have put together a list of questions and answers that should help to answer your immediate questions and concerns:
We will update this page with more information as it becomes available.
1. Is my branch being sold and what does it mean for me?
We understand that these announcements will raise some questions and concerns for you. We will do our best to provide you with information to answer your questions, but please let us assure you that for the immediate future these announcements won’t affect your banking relationship with any of the brands within Lloyds Banking Group.
The sale process may take up to a four year period and until a sale is agreed, it will be business as usual.
a. As a customer of Lloyds TSB in England or Wales, what will happen to me?
For the vast majority of Lloyds TSB customers with accounts based at branches in England or Wales, there will be no changes as we will only be selling a limited number of branches. At the moment we’re not able to identify which branches will be sold until we start the sale process.The timeline for the sale process may take up to four years. During this time we’d like to assure customers of the branches affected that they shouldn’t expect anything to change. This includes the products you hold with us, the service you receive and your terms and conditions. When the time for sale nears, we will do our very best to keep our customers fully informed. When a sale is agreed, we will ensure that the transfer of customers is handled with sensitivity and care and that any disruption is minimised. If any of these changes impact your terms or conditions you will be free to access your deposit without charge or penalty.
b. As a customer of Lloyds TSB in Scotland, what will happen to me?
With the proposed sale of Lloyds TSB branches in Scotland, if you hold an account that with one of these branches you will continue to have access to over 180 branches.The timeline for the sale process may take up to four years. During this time we’d like to assure customers of the branches affected that they shouldn’t expect anything to change. This includes the products you hold with us, the service you receive and your terms and conditions. When the time for sale nears, we will do our very best to keep our customers fully informed. When a sale is agreed, we will ensure that the transfer of customers is handled with sensitivity and care and that any disruption is minimised. If any of these changes impact your terms or conditions you will be free to access your deposit without charge or penalty.
2. Will I be allowed to transfer my account from the ‘new bank’ back to Lloyds Banking Group?
Once we’ve agreed a sale, you will be free to move your accounts at any time, as you are able to today. We will continue to be delighted to welcome any new customers who want to move their banking to Lloyds Banking Group.
3. What if I use multiple branches? Will I be able to choose who to stay with?
This decision will depend on the sorting code of the branch. If the branch is included in the sale then you will need to transfer branch. This is because sorting codes won’t be changing and to operate your account you will need to move to the branch that is now responsible for that code.
4. Can I transfer to a branch that will definitely stay?
Other than Lloyds TSB branches in Scotland and all current C&G branches, we have not yet identified the additional Lloyds TSB branches in England & Wales that will be sold. We won’t be able to do this until we start the sale process.
When a sale is agreed, we will ensure that the transfer of customers is handled with sensitivity and care and that any disruption is minimised.
We cannot actively encourage customers with accounts based in the affected branches to stay with us. However, you will be free to move your accounts between banks at any time as you are able to today. We will continue to be delighted to welcome any customers that wish to move their banking back to Lloyds Banking Group.
5. Why can’t you tell me if my branch is going to be sold?
We have announced that we are putting up for sale all Lloyds TSB branches in Scotland and all C&G branches. We haven’t yet identified the limited number of branches in England & Wales we will sell and we don’t plan to do so until we start the sale process. As part of our agreement we need to ensure that the business we sell has a 4.6% market share of personal current accounts and because of this it’s difficult to be specific at this early stage.
When a sale is agreed, we will ensure that the transfer of customers is handled with sensitivity and care and that any disruption is minimised.
6. Will my savings deposits still be covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme?
Yes, your savings remain protected exactly as they were before. Deposits held with Lloyds TSB plc, Lloyds TSB Scotland plc and Bank of Scotland plc will continue to be covered separately under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). This is because each is a separate company, which accepts deposits as a bank.
“Intelligent Finance” is a brand name of Bank of Scotland plc and deposits held in Intelligent Finance branded accounts are held with Bank of Scotland plc. “C&G” is a brand name of Lloyds TSB plc and deposits held in C&G branded accounts are held with Lloyds Bank plc. The FSCS protects up to £50,000 (or £50,000 each for joint account holders - £100,000 altogether) of the deposits in savings and current accounts you have with each separate bank.
7. What will happen to any fixed term product that I have taken out with you (for example a 2 Year Term Deposit)?
We would like to assure you that there are no immediate changes to your products, services or your terms and conditions. If this situation changes, we will notify you in accordance with your terms and conditions. If there is a case where a change in terms and conditions disadvantages you in any way, then you will be entitled to withdraw your money without any charge or penalty.
Service | Details |
|---|---|
Lloyds Banking Group Shareholder Helpline | 0871 384 2990 Overseas: +44 208 495 4630 Open - 8.30am to 5.30pm |
Preference Shares (LM Helpline) | 0871 384 2831 Overseas: +44 208 495 8082 Open - 8.30am to 5.30pm |
Lloyds TSB Employee Shareplans Helpline | 0871 384 2989 Overseas: +44 121 415 7110 Open 8.30am to 5.30pm |
HBOS Employee Shareplans Helpline | 0800 393 919 Overseas: +44 1422 333 614 Open - 8.30am to 5pm |
Equiniti Investment Account ISA Helpline | 0845 300 0430 Overseas: +44 121 415 0105 Open - 8am to 6pm |
Lloyds Banking Group Share ISA Helpline | 0844 892 1012 Open - 9am to 5.30pm |
