Lloyds Banking Group today announces that it has completed the acquisition of MBNA Ltd (MBNA), a UK consumer credit card business, from FIA Jersey Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of America, following receipt of regulatory and competition approval.

The transaction is consistent with the Group's stated strategic ambitions of growing in Consumer Finance and will enable the Group to enhance its position and offering within the UK prime credit card market through the MBNA brand. The purchase terms are in line with those previously disclosed and the purchase is expected to deliver strong financial returns including:
· an underlying Return on Investment that exceeds Cost of Equity in the first full year and increases to c.17% in the second full year following the acquisition
· c.3% and c.5% statutory EPS accretion in the first and second full years following the acquisition
Given the transaction will enhance Group net interest margin by c.10bps per annum there will be a c.5bps benefit to net interest margin in 2017. The transaction has been funded through organic capital generation with c.80 basis points of Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital retained on the Group's balance sheet since the end of 2016.

Commenting on the transaction, António Horta-Osório, Group Chief Executive, said:
"The acquisition, which is funded through strong internal capital generation, increases our participation in the UK prime credit card market, where we were underrepresented, and strengthens our position as a UK focused retail and commercial bank. The MBNA brand and portfolio are a good fit with our existing card business and we will focus on providing its customers with excellent service and value. Our proven integration capabilities and low cost to income ratio will deliver significant synergies and value to our shareholders."

Chart of the week: A 'very formidable' barrier for Lloyds Bank shares

What surprises me is the trading on LLOY B/S against SP.

Although there was a dump on the 31/05.

? ready for bounce?

Lloyds Banking Group ORD (LLOY) Trades
68.23
-0.36 (-0.52%)
live: 12:14PM BST
Buy Volume 93,373,657 Trade Low 67.63
Sell Volume 40,562,943 Trade High 68.60
? Volume 1,776,277 VWAP 68.05
Total Volume 135,712,877 Prev day Vol 0
Status: Connected
(Pause Streaming)
Time Price Qty Type Bid Offer B/S Total Buy Total Sell
12:15:25 68.2600 2,949 AT 68.2600 68.2700 Sell 93,450,707 40,581,985
12:15:25 68.2600 1,025 AT 68.2600 68.2700 Sell 93,450,707 40,579,036
12:15:25 68.2600 1,538 AT 68.2600 68.2700 Sell 93,450,707 40,578,011
12:15:25 68.2600 1,062 AT 68.2500 68.2600 Buy 93,450,707 40,576,473
12:15:25 68.2600 1,800 AT 68.2500 68.2600 Buy 93,449,645 40,576,473
12:15:25 68.2600 2,300 AT 68.2500 68.2600 Buy 93,447,845 40,576,473
12:15:23 68.2600 2,800 AT 68.2500 68.2600 Buy 93,445,545 40,576,473
12:15:19 68.2700 1,000 AT 68.2500 68.2700 Buy 93,442,745 40,576,473
12:15:18 68.2600 3,867 AT 68.2500 68.2600 Buy 93,441,745 40,576,473
12:15:14 68.2600 6,711 AT 68.2500 68.2600 Buy 93,437,878 40,576,473
12:15:14 68.2600 10,000 AT 68.2500 68.2600 Buy 93,431,167 40,576,473
12:15:11 68.2344 8,979 NT 68.2400 68.2600 Sell 93,421,167 40,576,473

RE - ? ready for bounce? 68.75p

no, no and no .... until I say so

around 66p would be the right price at this stage of the game ( cycle )

Why Lloyds Bank shares are a post-election 'buy'

David Brenchley must be a bright guy!

8-)

now @ 67p

needs to lose another penny

66.43p

and now another 1/2p, and could be some support around

Has bounce back from a low of 66.04p

Job done

--

Goldman Sachs Sell 67.00 58.00 58.00 Reiterates

Barclays Capital Overweight 67.00 77.00 77.00 Reiterates

Wonder how much the clowns who come out with those recommendations get paid ?

I get the impression goldman sachs doesn't like Lloyds,

GS trying to buy LLOY on the cheap perhaps

Lloy and GS have roughly the same net assets. Lloy revenue is almost 40% higher than GS. GS is valued at nearly twice Lloy. Go figure.

Credit Suisse Neutral 67.00 75.00 75.00 Reiterates

Bought some @ 65.99p

Has been touching 66p support for some time.

After the early marked down is now at best of the day 66.49p

Why it's time to buy Lloyds Bank, Shell and Vodafone - By David Brenchley | Wed, 12th July 2017 - 13:00

With such an increasingly uncertain macro backdrop - rising inflation, stagnant wages, political uncertainty and Brexit - the UK market has fallen out of favour with asset allocators at the big investment management firms.

The UK has been dismissed as a basket case and, true, recent data has hardly impressed. Corporate earnings momentum has also just turned negative for the first time in a year, as benefits of a weak pound and higher oil prices fade. We're now seeing more downgrades than upgrades.

"The relative risks do not appear to be fully priced in," argue strategists at broker UBS.

Elsewhere, with US markets expensive and earnings forecasts overly optimistic, investors are being nudged toward Europe and emerging markets.

But, while DIY investors should diversify through exposure to overseas markets via investment funds and trusts, a home bias is understandable, as UK stock markets are easily accessible.

The good news, then, is that plenty of UK-focused fund managers still see pockets of value. And, in a note to clients this week, UBS trumpeted that it has 94 'buy' ratings on the 213 UK companies it covers. Take that with a pinch of salt, of course, but it suggests selective stockpicking can still pay off.

According to UBS analysts, the FTSE 100's (UKX) 12-month forward price/earnings (PE) ratio is roughly in line with its long-run average - 14.2 times versus 14.7 - and trades at a modest 4% discount relative to history compared to Europe. "It's a similar story on the dividend yield and price/book value measures," they add.

"Whilst we see the bulk of sterling weakness as behind us, given the sharp deterioration in the domestic economy, we would have a preference for international exposure."

The broker's top FTSE 100 picks list is headlined by a couple of heavyweights, although they're at opposite ends of the scale regarding their level of domestic exposure.

Five most favoured stocks

The expected slowdown in the UK economy should not put investors off backing popular high-street lender Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY), says analyst Jason Napier. "In four of the last five UK recessions it paid to buy banks early."

He reckons Lloyds is "well positioned for a downturn", due in part to good capital levels, good forecast capital generation, its defensive loan portfolio and high levels of liquidity.

"Lloyds targets 200 basis points of capital generation in 2017, worth 6p of potential payout power. Compounded by the completion of the government sell-down, we believe Lloyds offers strong income returns."

Forecast earnings per share (EPS) and dividends per share (DPS) of 7.4p and 5.5p respectively put the stock on a forward PE of 8.8 times and yielding over 8%. At a discount to the European bank average, a re-rating is expected, so UBS tips Lloyds up to 85p, implying 30% upside.

67.15p +1.10p

gone over 67p not seeing for some time
you can not trust MAM chart spikes for sure

..