LONDON, June 24, 2026, 12:14 (BST)
Lloyds Banking Group slipped 0.6% to 108.45 pence as of 12:12 BST on Wednesday. Barclays and NatWest were both down around 0.2%. Lloyds was trading 5.4% under its 52-week peak at 114.60p.
Berenberg’s Michael Christodoulou initiated coverage on Lloyds with a “hold” rating and a 117p target, which is about 8% above where it traded midday. He put “buy” on both Barclays and NatWest, setting targets that suggest 21% and 31% upside, based on Tuesday’s close. Berenberg called Lloyds “an attractive domestic franchise but limited room for positive surprise at current valuations.” Investing.com UK
The rating came two days after Sky News said Lloyds was looking at a possible offer for Aldermore, the UK lender owned by FirstRand. The report said Lloyds liked Aldermore’s small-business lending and project-finance units. There’s no guarantee a bid happens.
RBC’s Benjamin Toms put Aldermore’s estimated price tag at £1.35 billion. That’s about 77% of Lloyds’ £1.75 billion share buyback. Toms said the move would give Lloyds more scale but not new capability, figuring the main savings would be through cheaper funding for Lloyds. He said he would rather see a deal in wealth management.
Aldermore had £16.6 billion in customer loans as of June 2025, only 3.4% of Lloyds’ £486.2 billion loan book at March 2026. At a £1.35 billion price, that’s about seven times Aldermore’s expected 2025 pretax profit of £193.5 million. That profit dropped 24% after a £60.6 million motor-finance charge. Lending at Aldermore was up 8%, and deposits climbed 5%.
Lloyds kept buying back shares, picking up 5 million on Tuesday at an average price of 109.2098p each. The buyback cost about £5.46 million. Shares traded 0.7% below that average level on Wednesday. Lloyds will cancel all shares from this buyback.
Lloyds reported a common equity tier 1 ratio of 13.4% at March 31, above its 13% target. The bank expects to generate over two percentage points of capital this year and will look at extra shareholder payouts at midyear. A cash deal would hit that capital unless Lloyds structures it another way.
Lloyds is looking at motor finance risk. FirstRand increased its provisions for mis-sold motor loans to £750 million, and Reuters reported any buyer would likely want indemnity from FirstRand for future claims. Lloyds has already set aside £1.95 billion for its own motor-finance risks. A thin indemnity or more redress costs could eat into the funding savings buyers expect.
Lloyds CEO Charlie Nunn said after Q1 earnings, “We are confident in our delivery for the year ahead and reiterate our guidance for 2026.” The group reports half-year results and will outline its new strategy on July 30. The board plans to review surplus capital twice a year starting mid-2026. Lloyds Banking Group
