​Balance sheet growth, assets under management and efficiency ratios will come under scrutiny, as Lloyds balances the need to support credit growth with maintaining strong credit quality.
​The bank’s strategic narrative, which emphasizes digital transformation, simplification, customer outcomes and cost leverage, will be tested against the operational realities of UK banking.
Auto finance provision creates drag on headlines
​Lloyds recently announced that it will incur an additional provision of £800 million in relation to the UK car finance mis-selling scandal, bringing its total reserve for this liability to approximately £1.95 billion.
​The expansion of this charge reflects emerging exposure linked to undisclosed commission practices in car loans and compensation claims under the FCA’s compensation framework.
This substantial charge introduces material risk and headline drag that could offset some of the positive momentum from underlying operating performance.
​The final scale of auto financing liabilities remains uncertain, leading to continued overconfidence in investor sentiment despite improving operating indicators.
​Strategic portfolio moves reshape the business
Meanwhile, in a major portfolio move, Lloyds acquired full control of the wealth joint venture: Schroders sold its 49.9% stake in Schroders Personal Wealth (SPW) to Lloyds.
​In exchange, Schroders regained Lloyds’ 19.1% stake in Cazenove Capital, marking Lloyds’ intention to take a more direct role in wealth management operations.
​On the branch network front, Lloyds continues to reduce its physical footprint. Just last month it announced the closure of an additional 49 branches under the Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands.
This will bring the total number of closures between 2025 and the end of 2026 to almost 350, in line with its broader push towards digital banking.
Digital transformation accelerates
​Lloyds has also advanced its digital and fintech ambitions. In early 2025, it introduced Athena, an AI-powered generative knowledge hub designed to help customer service colleagues.
​The bank has also been involved in partnerships around digital assets and tokenized real-world asset (RWA) collateral frameworks, in collaboration with Aberdeen Investments and Archax.
​These moves signal Lloyds’ intention to lean on technology and innovation as key differentiators going forward in an increasingly digital banking landscape.
​On the mortgage front, Lloyds pledged £4 billion in additional lending capacity to support first-time buyers, following recent regulatory and policy changes.
​Lloyds share price technical analysis
​On the monthly candlestick chart, the Lloyds share price advance has so far been thwarted by the 86.88p to 89.34p resistance zone, formed by the 2014 to 2015 highs.
