Bank of Scotland owner Lloyds expected to reinstate dividend this week

Profits are expected to have plunged when Bank of Scotland owner Lloyds Banking Group reports its 2020 results this week but shareholders will be firmly focused on the bank’s dividend.

Lloyds Banking Group owns Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The fall will be largely defined by the group’s charges for the bad loans that it expects to write off mainly due to the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Shareholders will look for a reinstated dividend. The payments were halted last year on the request of the industry regulator to ensure that banks had enough money to support the economy through the pandemic.

Last week, both NatWest – owner of Royal Bank of Scotland – and Barclays announced that they would restart dividend payouts.

As the UK’s biggest mortgage lender Lloyds relies more heavily on home lending than many of its peers.

Last time Lloyds presented results, it revealed that mortgage lending had boomed by £3.5 billion in the three months to September, as the bank processed more applications than at any point since 2008.

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