Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Banking Group was formed in January 2009 after relatively healthy Lloyds TSB rescued Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), which nearly collapsed during the credit crunch due to lack of capital and huge losses on its commercial property lending.
Since then the government has owned 43% of the bank. Lloyds has been ordered to sell off over 600 bank branches under European competition rules, as it has around 30% of the UK's current accounts and mortgages, 20% of the savings market, and 25% of personal loans.
Lloyds also has one of the biggest life insurers Scottish Widows. It sells more home insurance than anyone else, and it has suffered the biggest liability in compensating for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI).
Its brands include Lloyds TSB, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Scottish Widows, HBOS, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, BM Savings and Clerical Medical. The original Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765, originally as the private bank of Taylors & Lloyds. The operation began in a single office in Birmingham, where it continued doing business from nearly a century. It absorbed a series of London banks in 1884, one of which used a black horse symbol. This became Lloyd's trademark ever since. In the 20 century, Lloyds expanded its operations overseas and acquired the Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society in 1995.
