PRA Stress Test Thresholds Comfortably Exceeded
LLOYDS BANKING GROUP COMFORTABLY EXCEEDS PRA STRESS TEST THRESHOLDS
Lloyds Banking Group plc (the Group), together with six other financial institutions in the UK, has been subject to the 2015 stress test conducted by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
The test assesses banks' capital adequacy against a 4.5 per cent Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital threshold and a 3 per cent Tier 1 Leverage threshold. While the focus of this year's stress test was primarily on emerging markets and trading operations, it also reflected a material shock to UK corporates and households as well as a more severe view of conduct provisions. The key assumptions impacting the Group's operations included the more severe view of conduct provisions, unemployment peaking at 9.2 per cent and UK house and commercial property prices falling 20 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.
Result of stress test
The Group comfortably exceeds the capital and leverage thresholds set out for the purpose of the stress test and is therefore not required to take any action as a result of this stress test.
In the trough of the stress, the PRA calculated the Group's estimated CET1 ratio as 9.5 per cent and its leverage ratio as 3.9 per cent, compared with a reported CET1 ratio of 12.8 per cent and leverage ratio of 4.9 per cent as at 31 December 2014.
Group Chief Executive, António Horta-Osório said:
"We are pleased to have comfortably exceeded the thresholds under this year's PRA stress test. These strong results, which again reflect a material stress to the UK economy, demonstrate the progress we have made in de-risking our balance sheet as well as the Group's strong capital position and capital-generative business model."
The change in the CET1 ratio in the stress, as calculated by the PRA, of 3.3 per cent primarily reflects the more severe view of conduct charges as well as the impact of increased impairments. In the first nine months of 2015 the Group has already recognised conduct charges of £2.4 billion, equating to over 1.0 per cent of CET1 capital. In addition the Group has indicated that if reactive PPI complaint volumes remained at the same level as the first half of 2015 it would have to increase the provision by an additional £2.5 billion, equating to approximately a further 1.0 per cent of CET1 capital, in the 15 months to the end of 2016.
Under the stress scenario it is assumed that the payment of dividends would cease. Given the Group's strong capital position it did not submit any additional management actions for PRA consideration. In practice, the Group would take such management actions to mitigate the impact of a severe stress in order to protect its capital position. As a result of the Group's strong capital base none of its convertible capital securities1, including its Additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments, converted into equity in the stress test.
The Group continues to make further significant progress in strengthening its capital position. In the first nine months of 2015 the Group's CET1 ratio increased by 0.9 per cent (or by 1.1 per cent excluding the dividend announced with the half year results) to 13.7 per cent, driven by underlying earnings growth and the further de-risking of the balance sheet. The Group continues to expect to generate 1.5 - 2.0 per cent of CET1 per year before dividends and, while capital rules are still evolving, continues to target a steady state CET1 ratio of around 12 per cent plus an amount broadly equivalent to a further year's ordinary dividend.
Further details
Details of the PRA approach to the stress test and the detailed results in relation to all participating banks are available from the PRA website.
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