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Questor share-tip: Lloyds is a buy
Lloyds Banking Group is cleaning up its act. When your list of misdemeanours, perceived or real, is as long as Lloyds's charge sheet this is not an overnight project, but the UK's largest high street bank is getting there.
Published: 6:00AM BST 06 Jul 2010
Lloyds Banking Group
On Monday it took a major step by selling HBOS's integrated finance business a significant slice of the business that got HBOS and then Lloyds into so much trouble to private equity business Coller Capital.
Although the 332m deal will not be "material to the group's accounts", as the bank put it, it is material to the future direction of the bank. HBOS's integrated finance arm was the part of the bank that invested alongside private equity partners in businesses including housebuilders, retailers and property companies. Although the equity investments were not always substantial the debt the bank provided alongside the equity was, and was part of the reason HBOS was hit so hard by the financial crisis.
By distancing itself from this business, Lloyds has demonstrated its commitment to lower-risk banking. Lloyds' shares have not recovered as significantly as RBS's the other major bank the Government had to bail out. Questor does not think the Lloyds has worked through all of its legacy issues, but it is on the right track.
Eric Daniels, the bank's under fire chief executive, waived his bonus in a further sign of contrition from the bank. As Questor pointed out last time it covered Lloyds, the time may have come to let bygones be bygones.
True, the bank suspended its dividend after the going cap in hand to the Government, and true there is still a lot of uncertainty about the general economic picture in particular the property market and wider financial market on whose fortunes much of Lloyds success will lie. However, given the circumstances the bank produced good, consensus-busting figures in its most recent set of accounts.
In its advertising Lloyds claims it is "there for the journey". We think investors should buy a ticket too.