Lloyds bank told to pay £3.5m after being sued by charity battle

LLOYDS Banking Group has been ordered to pay a Scottish charity £3.5 million by judges at the Court of Session.

The banking group’s charitable arm, Lloyds TSB Foundation, raised an appeal against an earlier ruling that the bank had not breached an historic covenant, under which the charity is entitled to a percentage of the institution’s pre-tax profits.

The foundation claimed the money following Lloyds’ acquisition of Halifax Bank of Scotland. The banking group insisted the payment should be restricted to less than £40,000.

The charity’s chief executive Mary Craig said last night: “The court’s decision is extremely welcome.”