Lloyds financial planning business set for £50bn expansion

In a major push to expand into the financial planning and retirement industry, Lloyds Banking Group is looking to increase its open book assets in the sector by more than £50bn ($69.9bn, €56.5bn) by 2020, according to the company’s 2018 strategic plan.

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The plan was released along with the company’s full year results on 21 February, which show the bank increased its profits by 24% for the year-end 31 December 2017.

One million new customers

Antonio Horta Osorio, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, said it planned to increase its “financial planning and retirement open book assets by more than £50bn by 2020 with more than one million new pension customers”.

He said the increase was one of several ways the group had identified to maximise its capabilities moving forward.

In August last year, Lloyds first indicated they may make a major push into pension and investment products as part of a three-year growth plan.

Osorio said the new capabilities will allow the group to “deepen customer relationships, grow in targeted segments and better address our customers’ banking and insurance needs as an integrated financial services provider”.

Landmark year

Last year was a landmark year for the company, Osorio said, in which the company made significant strategic process and returned to full private ownership.

He said one key development was the completed acquisition of MBNA, another being the announced acquisition of Zurich’s workplace pensions and savings business.

He said the acquisitions give the company “a strong platform on which to develop the next stage of our strategy in the financial planning and retirement business”.

The report follows the announcement earlier this week that Lloyds has pulled its £109bn contract with Standard Life Aberdeen after its failed merger with Lloyds subsidiary Scottish Widows.

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