LLOYDS BANKING GROUP CUTTING THOUSANDS OF JOBS AS CEO CUTS COSTS

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s largest mortgage provider, is poised to eliminate thousands of jobs in what may be the biggest round of cuts since at least 2011, a person familiar with the matter said.

The bank will shut branches as part of efforts to automate its entire business, with job cuts expected in areas such as mortgage processing and new account opening, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the strategy isn’t finalized. Some people may be able to assume new roles in the revamp instead of losing their jobs, the person said.

Lloyds Chief Executive Officer Antonio Horta-Osorio, 50, has been seeking ways to bolster earnings growth to help return the lender to full private ownership. The bank has eliminated more than 37,000 jobs in the aftermath of its government bailout in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with some 15,000 cuts announced in 2011 as part of an effort to lower costs by 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion).

The shares fell 0.2 percent to 77.09 pence at 12:54 p.m. in London. They have dropped 2.3 percent this year, while Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, which was also rescued by taxpayers during the financial crisis, has advanced 9.1 percent.

The Times reported the plans earlier today. Ian Kitts, a London-based spokesman for the lender, declined to comment.

Barclays Cuts

The bank’s so-called digital strategy is part of a three-year plan and will be presented alongside the third-quarter results on Oct. 28, said the person.

Call-center staff may face job cuts as customers increasingly use Internet and mobile applications to communicate with the bank as opposed to telephone services. The final decision on the number of jobs to be eliminated hasn’t yet been made, according to the person.

At Barclays Plc, CEO Antony Jenkins has announced some 19,000 jobs cuts by 2016. The bank plans to cut 3,800 jobs in 2014 at its consumer and business banking division, led by Ashok Vaswani, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the public. Some 1,300 positions have already been eliminated at Vaswani’s division, the person said.

Barclays said earlier this year that its branch employees have received iPads and renamed community bankers as the bank moves to a counterless model to improve customer services. The bank has 1,546 branches according to its first-half results.

Lloyds Branches

Lloyds carved out 631 branches when it sold shares in TSB Banking Group Plc in June. The lender still has a network of more than 2,000 outlets throughout the U.K. with some 88,000 full-time employees, according to its website.

While Lloyds reported a 32 percent gain in first-half earnings supported by a U.K. housing boom and a strengthening economy, past misconduct has added to legal costs. The bank dismissed eight employees and reclaimed their bonuses after it was fined 226 million pounds for rate-rigging in July.

RBS, which received the world’s largest bailout during the financial crisis, leads job cuts among Britain’s five largest lenders, eliminating some 67,000 positions since the turmoil hurt the industry, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. The Edinburgh-based bank started cutting 2,000 investment-banking positions last year as part of its restructuring.

Barclays has cut some 63,000 positions, while HSBC Holdings Plc eliminated about 61,000 jobs, data show.

Bloomberg News