Profits at Lloyds boosted by sell-off proceeds

The UK's fifth largest bank, Lloyds TSB, has said that full year profits have jumped 66% to £4.35bn (€6.5bn), boosted by the proceeds from several asset sales.

Pre-tax profits at the business were up 21% with revenues 9% higher. Before one-off items, pre-tax profits were down 4% to £3.38bn (€5.05bn).

Lloyds TSB has recently sold off various assets in order to focus on its UK retail banking and mortgage business. The bank has sold-off over the past year the National Bank of New Zealand, many of its businesses in Brazil and its French operations, and its Central American businesses.