Lloyds Bank has revealed plans to target the Financial Planning and pensions markets and is aiming for 1m new customers by 2020.

The strategy was revealed as Lloyds posted an 8% rise in underlying profit to £8.493bn. In its first full year as a combined group it saw revenues up 6% to £18.525bn in 2017.

António Horta-Osório, group chief executive, said he wanted to ‘maximise the group’s capabilities’ by expanding its business in Financial Planning and retirement planning.

He said: “We will deepen customer relationships, grow in targeted segments and better address our customers’ banking and insurance needs as an integrated financial services provider. This will include:
increasing Financial Planning and Retirement (FP&R) open book assets by more than £50 billion by 2020 with more than 1 million new pension customers.”

One key part of the strategy is to building on the recent acquisition of nearly 600,000 Zurich customers.

Lloyds Bank said: “Zurich’s UK workplace pensions and savings business...has customer funds of £21 billion and about 595,000 customers. The acquisition will enhance Scottish Widows’ current offering, giving a strong platform on which to develop the next stage of its strategy in Financial Planning and retirement.”

Analysts believe Lloyds Bank is trying for a “pension land grab.” Lloyds Bank owns a number of key financial brands including Scottish Widows, Halifax and Bank of Scotland.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “There’s a lot to like in Lloyds’ numbers, with profits rising, costs under control, and prodigious amounts of cash being thrown off to shareholders.

“Lloyds is also looking at expanding into the Financial Planning and retirement market, and is targeting 1 million new pension customers by 2020. The government’s auto-enrolment programme is now largely in the rear view mirror, which means Lloyds will have to pinch these new customers off someone else, so it will have to sharpen up its toolkit.

“One would expect Scottish Widows to play a pivotal role in this pensions land grab, which lends some context to the recently announced prospective withdrawal of £109 billion of assets from Standard Life Aberdeen.”

During the year, the bank was hit with an extra £600 million of PPI costs in the fourth quarter, with expected weekly complaints rising from 9,000 to 11,000 as a result of the FCA campaign featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lloyds Bank wants 1m new Financial Planning and pension customers

Lloyds Bank has revealed plans to target the Financial Planning and pensions markets and is aiming for 1m new customers by 2020.

The strategy was revealed as Lloyds posted an 8% rise in underlying profit to £8.493bn. In its first full year as a combined group it saw revenues up 6% to £18.525bn in 2017.

António Horta-Osório. group chief executive, said he wanted to ‘maximise the group’s capabilities’ by expanding its business in Financial Planning and retirement planning.

He said: “We will deepen customer relationships, grow in targeted segments and better address our customers’ banking and insurance needs as an integrated financial services provider. This will include:
increasing Financial Planning and Retirement (FP&R) open book assets by more than £50 billion by 2020 with more than 1 million new pension customers.”

One key part of the strategy is to building on the recent acquisition of nearly 600,000 Zurich customers.

Lloyds Bank said: “Zurich’s UK workplace pensions and savings business...has customer funds of £21 billion and about 595,000 customers. The acquisition will enhance Scottish Widows’ current offering, giving a strong platform on which to develop the next stage of its strategy in Financial Planning and retirement.”

Analysts believe Lloyds Bank is trying for a “pension land grab.”

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “There’s a lot to like in Lloyds’ numbers, with profits rising, costs under control, and prodigious amounts of cash being thrown off to shareholders.

“Lloyds is also looking at expanding into the Financial Planning and retirement market, and is targeting 1 million new pension customers by 2020. The government’s auto-enrolment programme is now largely in the rear view mirror, which means Lloyds will have to pinch these new customers off someone else, so it will have to sharpen up its toolkit.

“One would expect Scottish Widows to play a pivotal role in this pensions land grab, which lends some context to the recently announced prospective withdrawal of £109 billion of assets from Standard Life Aberdeen.”

During the year, the bank was hit with an extra £600 million of PPI costs in the fourth quarter, with expected weekly complaints rising from 9,000 to 11,000 as a result of the FCA campaign featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger.