Rising competition for deposits and mortgages and higher costs knocked profits at Lloyds Banking Group by more than a quarter in the first three months of the year.
Pre-tax profits at Britain’s biggest domestic lender slid by 28 per cent to £1.63 billion compared with a year earlier, in the clearest sign yet that the tailwind enjoyed by the banking industry from higher interest rates is receding.
The FTSE 100-listed group’s net interest margin, which is the difference between the interest it pays on deposits and charges on loans and is a key measure of a bank’s profitability, fell to 2.95 per cent from 3.22 per cent a year ago.
William Chalmers, the Lloyds finance chief, said this margin decline reflected “keen pricing in the
