Lloyds ‘cautious’ over Irish loan book

LLOYDS Bank, which has announced plans to cut 750 jobs as it pulls out ofretail banking in Ireland represented by the Halifax brand, said it is still cautious on its Irish loan book due to uncertainty over the outlook for the Irish economy.

The group, which owns Bank of Scotland (Ireland), said losses on Irish loans jumped to a massive £2.9 billion (€3.3bn) in 2009 from £526 million the previous year.

That amounts to almost 10% of gross loans in Ireland and compares with just 3.4% at the end of June.