London, March 9, 2026, 21:34 GMT
Lloyds Banking Group plc said on Monday it had hired Trusha Pillay as a managing director in its infrastructure and project finance team, bringing in a senior banker from BNP Paribas and MUFG as the British lender pushes further into corporate banking. Pillay, who has more than 20 years in the sector, will work on arranging and structuring debt for clients across the UK, the United States and Europe, and will report to Tony Hable, according to the bank. 1
The move matters because Britain’s biggest mortgage lender is preparing a broader push beyond its core retail business. Reuters reported last month that Lloyds planned to expand lending to bigger corporate clients and financial institutions, with Chief Executive Charlie Nunn due to lay out the next phase of strategy in July. 2
Infrastructure and project finance — long-term funding for assets such as power, transport and utilities — can bring fees as well as lending income. Hable said Pillay brought a “rare combination of structuring expertise” as Lloyds builds out a business where clients want long-term banking partners. 1
Another filing on Monday showed Lloyds bought back 36.9 million ordinary shares that day at a volume-weighted average price of 94.2249 pence. The purchase forms part of a buyback of up to 1.75 billion pounds, launched on Jan. 30 and due to run through Dec. 31, with the shares set to be cancelled. 3
Lloyds set that capital return after reporting 2025 pretax profit of 6.7 billion pounds, up 12%, and lifting its 2026 return on tangible equity target above 16%. Return on tangible equity is a common bank profitability measure, and Nunn said in January that “business momentum and strategic delivery” had enabled the group to upgrade guidance. 4
The bank is not alone in chasing businesses less dependent on plain lending. NatWest agreed in February to buy wealth manager Evelyn Partners, while Barclays raised performance targets the same month as it leaned on core markets and its U.S. business. 5
But the backdrop turned rougher on Monday. Oil’s jump rattled UK bond markets and briefly revived bets on a Bank of England rate hike; Hal Cook, senior investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said rate cuts “now seem unlikely,” a shift that could mean weaker loan demand or more strain on household borrowers for a bank still tied closely to the UK consumer. 6
For now, Lloyds is returning capital while trying to reshape the business. Investors are looking to July, when Nunn is expected to detail the next strategy phase and show how the bank plans to grow while absorbing the motor finance scandal — where some car-loan customers were not told about hidden commissions — that Lloyds said weighed on its 2025 results. 4
