Final Results - Pre-tax Profit Up 20%, Part 3

Lloyds TSB Group PLC 11 February 2000 PART 3 LLOYDS TSB GROUP INCOME Group net interest income Group net interest income increased by £385 million, or 9 per cent, to £4,801 million. Average interest-earning assets increased by 6 per cent to £124 billion. There was further growth in mortgages and other customer lending in the UK. The net interest margin improved by 7 basis points, to 3.86 per cent, as an 18 basis point increase in the domestic net interest margin to 3.99 per cent (page 24) was offset by a reduction in the international net interest margin (page 25). 1999 1998 £m £m Net interest income 4,801 4,416 Average balances Short-term liquid assets 1,985 2,438 Loans and advances 117,303 110,010 Debt securities 5,038 4,990 Total interest-earning assets 124,326 117,438 Financed by: Interest-bearing liabilities 107,631 102,169 Interest-free liabilities 16,695 15,269 Average rates (excluding write-down of % % finance leases) Gross yield on interest-earning assets 8.46 9.66 Cost of interest-bearing liabilities 5.31 6.75 Interest spread 3.15 2.91 Contribution of interest-free liabilities 0.71 0.88 Net interest margin 3.86 3.79 Note: Payments made under cash gift and discount mortgage schemes are amortised over the early redemption charge period, being a maximum of 5 years. If these incentives had been fully written off as incurred, group and domestic net interest income would have been £11 million lower in 1999 (1998: £60 million higher). The deferred element of the expenditure amounting to £176 million at 31 December 1999 (31 December 1998: £165 million) is included within prepayments and accrued income in the balance sheet. Page 23 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP Domestic net interest income Domestic net interest income increased by £391 million, or 10 per cent, to £4,172 million and represents 87 per cent of total group net interest income. Average interest-earning assets increased by 4 per cent to £105 billion. There was further growth in mortgages and other customer lending. The net interest margin increased by 18 basis points to 3.99 per cent. Despite the continuing competitive pressure on many products, customer lending and deposits continued to grow and there was a further improvement in the mix of our assets as we continue to focus on the retail side of our business. 1999 1998 £m £m Net interest income 4,172 3,781 Average balances Short-term liquid assets 985 1,199 Loans and advances 100,323 95,418 Debt securities 3,272 3,533 Total interest-earning assets 104,580 100,150 Financed by: Interest-bearing liabilities 89,515 86,210 Interest-free liabilities 15,065 13,940 Average rates (excluding write-down of % % finance leases) Gross yield on interest-earning assets 7.72 8.94 Cost of interest-bearing liabilities 4.36 5.96 Interest spread 3.36 2.98 Contribution of interest-free liabilities 0.63 0.83 Net interest margin 3.99 3.81 Page 24 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP International net interest income Net interest income from international operations decreased by 1 per cent to £629 million, representing 13 per cent of total group net interest income. The difficult economic conditions in Latin America created a reduction in customer receivables outstanding to £2,558 million at the end of December 1999, compared with £2,939 million at the end of December 1998. Average interest-earning assets increased by 14 per cent, reflecting the impact of the mortgage portfolio acquired in September 1998 on the purchase of Countrywide Bank in New Zealand, which more than offset the reduced lending volumes in Latin America. As a result of the finer margins earned in Countrywide, where the lending portfolio is predominantly mortgages, and lower margins on the higher quality business being written in Losango, the international net interest margin decreased to 3.19 per cent. 1999 1998 £m £m Net interest income 629 635 Average balances Short-term liquid assets 1,000 1,239 Loans and advances 16,980 14,592 Debt securities 1,766 1,457 Total interest-earning assets 19,746 17,288 Financed by: Interest-bearing liabilities 18,116 15,959 Interest-free liabilities 1,630 1,329 Average rates % % Gross yield on interest-earning assets 12.34 13.82 Cost of interest-bearing liabilities 9.98 10.99 Interest spread 2.36 2.83 Contribution of interest-free liabilities 0.83 0.84 Net interest margin 3.19 3.67 Page 25 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP Other income Other income increased by £111 million, or 4 per cent, to £3,173 million, excluding the impact of pension provisions. This represented 40 per cent of total income. Fees and commissions receivable increased by 6 per cent reflecting increased business volumes and strong growth in income from insurance broking. Other UK fees and commissions increased by 8 per cent, helped by a 37 per cent increase in unit trust commissions. International fees and commissions increased in local currency terms, but this increase was largely offset by the effect of exchange rate movements. Fees and commissions payable increased by £38 million compared with 1998, largely as a result of higher dealer commissions paid for the introduction of new consumer finance business and higher interchange fees for card services. Income from long-term assurance business fell by £50 million, excluding the impact of the pension provisions, largely as a result of the one-off benefits in 1998 from the change in the embedded value discount rate from 12.5 per cent to 10 per cent and the harmonisation of actuarial bases following the merger of the Hill Samuel and Abbey Life long term assurance funds, and the continuing switch within single premium business from life products to unit trusts and ISAs (page 17). Higher volumes produced a strong increase in general insurance premium income. Other operating income was reduced as a result of lower gains on the realisation of venture capital investments. 1999 1998 £m £m Dividend income from equity shares 3 5 Fees and commissions receivable: UK current account fees 611 579 Other UK fees and commissions 1,060 982 Insurance broking 327 296 Card services 249 242 International fees and commissions 250 248 2,497 2,347 Fees and commissions payable (426) (388) Dealing profits (before expenses): Foreign exchange trading income 133 112 Securities and other gains 82 85 215 197 Income from long-term assurance business: Income before pension provisions 329 379 Pension provisions (102) (400) 227 (21) General insurance premium income 390 335 Other operating income 165 187 Total other income 3,071 2,662 Page 26 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP OPERATING EXPENSES Operating expenses 1999 1998 £m £m Administrative expenses: Staff: Salaries and profit sharing 1,500 1,495 National insurance 125 126 Pensions (108) (105) Restructuring 20 36 Other staff costs 180 184 1,717 1,736 Premises and equipment: Rent and rates 250 267 Hire of equipment 33 36 Repairs and maintenance 107 98 Other 100 109 490 510 Other expenses: Communications and external data processing 406 372 Advertising and promotion 113 128 Professional fees 90 105 Other 324 361 933 966 Administrative expenses 3,140 3,212 Restructuring provision - 38 Total administrative expenses 3,140 3,250 Depreciation 221 218 Amortisation of goodwill 12 4 Total operating expenses 3,373 3,472 Efficiency ratio (excluding pension provisions) 42.3% 46.4% Efficiency ratio (statutory basis) 42.8% 49.1% Total operating expenses were reduced by £99 million, or 3 per cent, compared with 1998. Operating expenses included further expenditure of £41 million in preparation for the Year 2000 and EMU (1998: £104 million). The efficiency ratio, excluding pension provisions, improved further to 42.3 per cent from 46.4 per cent a year ago and 59 per cent at the time of the merger of Lloyds Bank and TSB in 1995. Page 27 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP Operating expenses (continued) Underlying Group operating expenses At the time of the Lloyds Bank and TSB Group merger in December 1995, the Group announced a cost savings target of £350 million per annum by 1999. This target was increased in December 1996 to £400 million per annum by 1999 following the acquisition of the minority shareholding in Lloyds Abbey Life and the subsequent integration of the Lloyds Abbey Life businesses. The table below shows the progress the Group has made to date in its cost reduction programme. The 1995 pro forma cost base for the enlarged Group was £3,850 million per annum. This original base figure has subsequently been adjusted to take account of acquisitions and non-merger related disposals, to ensure that the appropriate monitoring and tight control took place so that the necessary cost synergies were captured. Pro forma 1999 1995 £m £m Total operating expenses 3,373 3,850 Acquisitions Losango (51) - Banco Anglo Colombiano (29) - Countrywide (61) - Bank of Scotland registration businesses (5) - Non-merger related disposals Schroder Munchmeyer Hengst - (62) International Factors - (23) Black Horse Agencies - (121) Underlying operating expenses 3,227 3,644 After excluding the impact of non-merger related disposals, which have reduced the Group's 1995 pro forma cost base to a revised base figure of £3,644 million, total costs saved since the merger of Lloyds Bank and TSB Group and the integration of Lloyds Abbey Life, excluding subsequent acquisitions, total £417 million per annum, exceeding the £400 million per annum cost reduction target. During 1999 a further £44 million of restructuring costs, arising from the merger of Lloyds Bank and TSB Group and the integration of Lloyds Abbey Life, were charged against the restructuring provisions totalling £500 million made in 1995 and 1996. These restructuring provisions have now been fully used. Page 28 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP Number of employees (full-time equivalent) In 1999 staff numbers fell by 1,140 to 76,056. Within UK Retail Banking staff numbers decreased by 429 but in Insurance and Investments numbers of staff increased to reflect increased business volumes in the bancassurance business. In Wholesale Markets staff numbers decreased in Commercial Financial Services and Treasury Division. In International Banking there were lower staff numbers in Brazil and New Zealand. Since the merger of Lloyds Bank and TSB Group at the end of 1995, there has been an underlying reduction of 16,724 staff of which 4,823 relate to staff employed in businesses sold and 11,901 to reductions in our ongoing businesses. 31 31 December December 1999 1998 UK Retail Banking* 43,771 44,200 Mortgages 3,669 3,694 Insurance and Investments 7,041 6,742 UK Retail Financial Services 54,481 54,636 Wholesale Markets 7,865 8,024 International Banking 13,049 13,870 Other 661 666 Total number of employees (full-time equivalent) 76,056 77,196 *Although the costs of distributing mortgages and insurance through the Lloyds TSB network are allocated to the mortgage and insurance businesses, the number of employees involved in these activities in the networks is included under UK Retail Banking. Page 29 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP CREDIT QUALITY Charge for bad and doubtful debts 1999 1998 £m £m Domestic: UK Retail Banking 428 312 Mortgages (3) 24 Insurance and Investments - (4) Wholesale Markets 76 31 Total domestic 501 363 International Banking 87 165 Total charge 588 528 Specific provisions 588 535 General provisions - (7) Total charge 588 528 Charge as % of average lending: % % Domestic 0.57 0.45 International 0.59 1.34 Total charge 0.57 0.56 The domestic charge for bad and doubtful debts increased to £501 million from £363 million, largely due to some deterioration at the beginning of 1999 in the personal lending and credit card portfolios, and higher provisions in our asset finance business, Lloyds UDT, mainly as a result of higher arrears and the decline in the residual value of second-hand cars. Provisions overseas decreased to £87 million from £165 million, mainly as a result of a reduced provisions charge from the Losango Consumer Finance business in Brazil. The Group's charge for bad and doubtful debts, expressed as a percentage of average lending, was 0.57 per cent compared to 0.56 per cent in 1998. Non-performing loans fell to £1,088 million from £1,188 million in December 1998 and represented 1.0 per cent of total lending, down from 1.2 per cent in December 1998. Page 30 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP Movements in provisions for bad and doubtful debts 1999 1998 Specific General Specific General £m £m £m £m At 1 January 1,792 365 2,123 370 Exchange and other adjustments (4) (4) (32) 2 Advances written off (744) - (959) - Recoveries of advances written off in previous years 130 - 125 - Charge (release) to profit and loss account: New and additional provisions 1,087 7 999 3 Releases and recoveries (499) (7) (464) (10) 588 - 535 (7) At 31 December 1,762 361 1,792 365 2,123 2,157 Closing provisions as % of lending (excluding unapplied interest) Specific: Domestic 773 (0.9%) 761 (0.9%) International 989 (6.6%) 1,031 (7.3%) 1,762 (1.7%) 1,792 (1.8%) General 361 (0.3%) 365 (0.4%) Total 2,123 (2.0%) 2,157 (2.2%) At the end of December 1999 provisions for bad and doubtful debts totalled £2,123 million. This represented 2.0 per cent of total lending. The level of specific provisions reduced to £1,762 million. Non- performing lending fell to £1,088 million from £1,188 million in December 1998 as a result of repayments of principal and write- offs during the year. At the end of the year, specific provisions represented over 160 per cent of non-performing loans. Page 31 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP CAPITAL RATIOS Risk asset ratios 31 31 December December 1999 1998 £m £m Capital Tier 1 8,460 7,280 Tier 2 6,838 4,386 15,298 11,666 Supervisory deductions (2,588) (2,213) Total capital 12,710 9,453 £bn £bn Risk-weighted assets UK Retail Banking 16.6 15.8 Mortgages 24.0 22.5 Insurance and Investments 0.1 0.2 UK Retail Financial Services 40.7 38.5 Wholesale Markets 32.8 33.9 International Banking 10.7 10.9 Total risk-weighted assets 84.2 83.3 Post-tax return on average risk-weighted assets 3.02% 2.67% Risk asset ratios Total capital 15.1% 11.3% Tier 1 10.0% 8.7% In 1999 total capital increased by £3,257 million to £12,710 million. Tier 1 capital rose by £1,180 million, mainly from retained profits. Tier 2 capital increased by £2,452 million and supervisory deductions increased by £375 million, resulting from growth in the insurance business. The strong growth in the Group's capital ratios reflects both the strong internal generation of capital and the raising of some £2.4 billion of further loan capital in anticipation of the completion of the Scottish Widows acquisition. Risk-weighted assets increased to £84.2 billion and the post-tax return on average risk-weighted assets, a key measure of the efficient use of capital, improved to 3.02 per cent, from 2.67 per cent in 1998. At the end of December 1999 the risk asset ratios further improved to 15.1 per cent for total capital and to 10.0 per cent for tier 1 capital. Excluding the impact of the additional tier 2 capital raised for the Scottish Widows acquisition the Group's total capital ratio would have been 12.3 per cent. Page 32 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP BALANCE SHEET INFORMATION Total assets Total assets increased by £8 billion, or 5 per cent, from the end of 1998 (page 9) and loans and advances to customers increased by £7 billion. There was further growth in mortgage lending and other customer lending. 31 31 December December Deposits - customer accounts 1999 1998 £m £m Sterling: Non-interest bearing current accounts 6,012 5,710 Interest bearing current accounts 17,461 15,418 Savings and investment accounts 41,330 40,838 Other customer deposits 14,696 15,329 Total sterling 79,499 77,295 Currency 13,352 12,439 Total deposits - customer accounts 92,851 89,734 Loans and advances to customers Domestic: Agriculture, forestry and fishing 2,183 2,052 Manufacturing 3,262 2,987 Construction 754 671 Transport, distribution and hotels 3,540 3,308 Property companies 2,303 2,304 Financial, business and other services 6,614 5,029 Personal : mortgages 47,451 44,660 : other 10,092 9,570 Lease financing 8,848 8,445 Hire purchase 3,674 3,701 Other 1,698 1,577 Total domestic 90,419 84,304 International: Latin America 2,558 2,939 New Zealand 7,659 7,310 Rest of the world 4,159 3,207 Total international 14,376 13,456 104,795 97,760 Provisions for bad and doubtful debts* (2,067) (2,099) Interest held in suspense* (100) (105) Total loans and advances to customers 102,628 95,556 * Figures exclude provisions and interest held in suspense relating to loans and advances to banks Page 33 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP AND SCOTTISH WIDOWS GROUP ACQUISITION OF SCOTTISH WIDOWS On 22 December 1999 the members of Scottish Widows voted in favour of a proposal providing for the transfer of Scottish Widows' business to the Lloyds TSB Group. The transfer, which is subject to the sanction of the Court of Session in Edinburgh, is expected to be completed on 3 March 2000. The results of the Scottish Widows' business will be consolidated in full with effect from 3 March 2000; however in order to provide an indication of the historic performance of the enlarged Group, pro forma financial information is shown on pages 34 to 37. This information has been prepared on the assumption that Scottish Widows had been part of the Lloyds TSB Group since 1 January 1998 and using the accounting policies and practices adopted by the Lloyds TSB Group in the preparation of the 1999 accounts. PRO FORMA SUMMARY OF RESULTS FOR THE ENLARGED GROUP 1999 1998 Increase (Decrease) RESULTS (excluding pension provisions £m £m and loss/profit on sale and closure of businesses) Income from long-term assurance business 826 885 (7) Total income 8,170 7,669 7 Operating expenses 3,391 3,478 (3) Trading surplus 4,779 4,191 14 Provisions for bad and doubtful debts 588 528 11 Profit before tax 4,027 3,516 15 Profit attributable to shareholders 2,836 2,445 16 PER SHARE p p Earnings (excluding pension provisions and loss/profit on sale and closure of businesses) 52.1 45.3 15 Earnings (statutory basis) 48.5 41.6 17 Net assets 161 138 17 PERFORMANCE MEASURES % % Post-tax return on average shareholders' equity 31.3 31.7 Post-tax return on average risk- weighted assets 3.17 2.83 BALANCE SHEET £m £m Long-term assurance business attributable to shareholders 6,107 5,467 12 Long-term assurance assets attributable to policyholders 49,284 44,277 11 Shareholders' equity 8,947 7,604 18 Page 34 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP AND SCOTTISH WIDOWS GROUP PRO FORMA LIFE, PENSIONS AND UNIT TRUSTS RESULTS 1999 1998 £m £m Profit before tax - Scottish Widows (excluding exceptional annuity charge) New business 171 159 Existing business 186 173 Investment earnings 321 310 Life and pensions distribution costs (145) (136) 533 506 Unit trusts 20 6 Unit trust distribution costs (18) (6) 2 - 535 506 Profit before tax for Scottish Widows was £535 million in 1999 compared with £506 million in 1998, an increase of 6 per cent, excluding a £36 million exceptional charge required to strengthen reserves as a result of revised Financial Services Authority guidelines for the life expectancy of annuitants. During 1999, following a detailed review of the amount expected to be needed to meet Scottish Widows policy liabilities, Scottish Widows decided to strengthen the level of assets backing certain classes of policy by a total of some £300 million. This has the effect of reducing the level of the surplus assets of Scottish Widows and, as a result, will reduce the acquisition price to be paid by Lloyds TSB upon completion of the purchase. The mix of the portfolio backing the surplus assets has also been changed during the year and there is now a higher proportion of fixed income and gilt-edged securities and a lower proportion of equities. This creates a better quality, but slightly lower level, of sustainable investment earnings. Both these issues have the effect of reducing ongoing investment earnings for Scottish Widows and 1998 comparisons have therefore been restated to reflect these changes. Lloyds Scottish Pro forma TSB Widows Total 1999 1999 1999 1998 £m £m £m £m Pro forma profit before tax*: New business 134 171 305 282 Existing business 260 150 410 481 Investment earnings 43 321 364 346 Life and pensions distribution costs (99) (145) (244) (223) 338 497 835 886 Unit trusts 138 20 158 111 Unit trust distribution costs (81) (18) (99) (69) 57 2 59 42 395 499 894 928 *excluding pension provisions Page 35 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP AND SCOTTISH WIDOWS GROUP PRO FORMA NEW BUSINESS PERFORMANCE Pro forma new business Lloyds Scottish performance TSB Widows Total 1999 1999 1999 1998 £m £m £m £m Life premiums (equivalised) 106.8 122.6 229.4 212.3 Pension premiums (equivalised) 210.2 294.7 504.9 479.0 Unit Trust premiums (equivalised) 248.2 65.1 313.3 218.0 Total premiums (equivalised) 565.2 482.4 1,047.6 909.3 Total new premium income for Scottish Widows increased by 29 per cent in 1999 to £3.32 billion. Weighted sales increased by 20 per cent from £402 million to £482 million. Weighted sales for the combined Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows businesses increased by 15 per cent from £909.3 million in 1998 to £1,047.6 million in 1999. There was particularly strong growth in unit trusts, PEPs and ISAs with weighted sales growing by 44 per cent. Scottish Widows Investment Management During 1999 funds under management at Scottish Widows Investment Management increased by some £5 billion, or 15 per cent, to £36 billion as a result of rising equity markets, new premiums on Scottish Widows life, pensions and unit trust policies and a number of new external business mandates gained. Funds managed on behalf of third parties represented £3 billion of the total funds under management at the end of 1999. Page 36 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP AND SCOTTISH WIDOWS GROUP 1999 1998 £m £m Scottish Widows Regular premiums: Life - mortgage related 22.5 19.3 - non-mortgage related 31.3 32.0 Pensions 71.5 72.5 Fund management 41.4 36.3 Total regular premiums 166.7 160.1 Single premiums: Life 688.1 522.2 Annuities 344.9 361.0 Pensions 337.6 351.0 Fund management 1,136.3 936.2 Total single premiums 2,506.9 2,170.4 External unit trust sales: Single amounts 650.7 244.1 Total external unit trust sales 650.7 244.1 Total life funds under management 22,742 20,585 Pro forma Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows Regular premiums: Life - mortgage related 63.2 57.9 - non-mortgage related 53.6 54.0 Pensions 131.8 149.7 Fund management 41.4 36.3 Health 6.1 5.7 Total regular premiums 296.1 303.6 Single premiums: Life 1,064.7 947.1 Annuities 555.5 548.9 Pensions 547.1 468.5 Fund management 2,215.3 1,912.2 Total single premiums 4,382.6 3,876.7 External unit trust sales: Regular payments 79.1 73.1 Single amounts 2,341.8 1,449.3 Total external unit trust sales 2,420.9 1,522.4 Total life funds under management 49,284 44,277 Pro forma Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows Total new business premium income and unit trust sales: Regular premiums 296.1 303.6 Single premiums 4,382.6 3,876.7 Unit trusts 2,420.9 1,522.4 Weighted sales (regular + 1/10 single) 1,047.6 909.3 Page 37 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP NOTES 1. Accounting policies Accounting policies are unchanged from 1998, except that the Group has implemented the requirements of Financial Reporting Standard 12 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets; the effect has not been significant. 2. Economic profit In pursuit of our aim to maximise shareholder value, we use a system of value based management as a framework to identify and measure value in order to help us to make better business decisions. Accounting profit is of limited use as a measure of value creation and performance as it ignores the cost of the equity capital that has to be invested to generate the profit. We choose economic profit as a measure of performance because it captures both growth in investment and return. Economic profit represents the difference between the earnings on the equity invested in a business and the cost of the equity. Our calculation of economic profit uses average equity for the year and is based on a cost of equity of 9 per cent (1998: 10 per cent). Economic profit instils a rigorous financial discipline in determining investment decisions throughout the Group. It enables us to evaluate alternative strategies objectively, with a clear understanding of the value created by each strategy, and then to select the strategy which creates the greatest value. 3. Earnings per share Basic 1999 1998 Profit attributable to shareholders £2,514m £2,120m Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 5,445m 5,400m Earnings per share 46.2p 39.3p Fully diluted Profit attributable to shareholders £2,514m £2,120m Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 5,546m 5,506m Earnings per share 45.3p 38.5p 4. Tax The effective rate of tax was 30.4 per cent (1998: 29.3 per cent), compared with an average UK corporation tax rate for 1999 of 30.25 per cent (1998: 31.0 per cent). The higher effective rate of tax in 1999 reflects a combination of factors which reduced the effective rate of tax in 1998 including the absence of a tax charge on the profit on the sale of certain businesses and a reduction in the deferred tax liability associated with the one-off write-down of finance leases as a result of the reduction in the corporation tax rate. Page 38 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP 5. Sale and closure of businesses 1999 1998 £m £m Provision for closure of Lloyds TSB Securities Services (tax: nil) (28) - Provision for sale of Abbey Life new business capability (tax: nil) (including £80 million in respect of goodwill previously written off to reserves, and other asset write-offs) (98) - Profit on sale of International Factors Limited (tax: nil) - 158 Profit on sale of Universal Credit Limited (tax: nil) - 24 Profit on sale of TSB Factors Limited (tax: nil) - 3 Loss on sale of Black Horse Agencies Group (after charging goodwill of £131 million previously written off to reserves) (tax: nil) - (101) (126) 84 6. Efficiency programme Additional opportunities have been identified that will enable the Group to reduce its overall cost base. The cost reductions, together with the expected revenue growth, are such that by 2002 we expect that the Group's efficiency ratio will be below 35 per cent, and we forecast further progress thereafter. The start of this efficiency programme will require a restructuring charge of up to £200 million in 2000. The extensive programme will result in lower overall staffing levels, but the impact of this will be mitigated by our natural staff turnover, with underlying staff numbers in 2000, excluding the acquisition of Scottish Widows, reducing by some 3,000. The main features of the efficiency programme, which is primarily focused on non-customer facing activities, will be: - the centralisation of computer operations the further consolidation of all our large scale processing operations and support functions including the complete removal of all back office processing from branches the introduction of internet and intranet technology to further automate processing activities the further streamlining of the branch network, combined with the expansion of lower cost delivery channels such as telephone banking and internet operations the further reduction of our purchasing costs the rationalisation of non personal banking activities, through the progressive sharing and consolidation of operational functions. Page 39 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP 7. Year 2000 Lloyds TSB recognised the far-reaching implications of the Year 2000 problem and the Group's policy was always to ensure that our systems and business processes were Year 2000 compliant. The successful implementation of the Group's Year 2000 century date change programme represented the culmination of many years work and this comprehensive programme has ensured the continued progress of the Group's systems, processes and infrastructure through and beyond the century date change. Costs incurred to the end of 1999 were £161 million. 8. Economic and Monetary Union In preparing for the initial decision that the UK should opt- out of Economic and Monetary Union, all the relevant business units in the Group successfully managed the conversion process at the beginning of January 1999, to ensure a smooth transition to the single currency. The Group now provides euro accounts and enables customers to make and receive payments in euro. Costs incurred to the end of December 1999 were £38 million. 9. Dividend The board recommends a final dividend for 1999 of 18.5p per share (1998: 15.5p), making a total for the year of 26.6p (1998: 22.2p), an increase of 20 per cent. Shareholders who have already joined the dividend reinvestment plan will automatically receive shares instead of the cash dividend. Shareholders who have not joined the plan and wish to do so may obtain an application form from Lloyds TSB Registrars, The Causeway, Worthing, West Sussex, BN99 6DA (telephone 01903 502541). Key dates for the payment of the final dividend are: Shares quoted ex-dividend. Shares purchased before this date qualify for the dividend 21 February Record date. Shareholders on the register on this date are entitled to the dividend 25 February Final date for joining or leaving the dividend reinvestment plan for th final dividend 5 April Dividend paid 3 May Page 40 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP 10. Other information The financial information included in this news release does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 1999 were approved by the directors on 10 February 2000 and will be delivered to the registrar of companies following publication on 4 March 2000. The auditors' report on these accounts was unqualified and did not include a statement under sections 237(2) (accounting records or returns inadequate or accounts not agreeing with records and returns) or 237(3) (failure to obtain necessary information and explanations) of the Companies Act 1985. Results for the half-year to 30 June 2000 will be announced on 28 July 2000. Page 41 of 42 LLOYDS TSB GROUP CONTACTS For further information please contact:- Kent Atkinson Group Finance Director Lloyds TSB Group plc 020 7356 1436 E-mail: kent.atkinson@ltsb-finance.co.uk Michael Oliver Director of Investor Relations Lloyds TSB Group plc 020 7356 2167 E-mail: michael.oliver@ltsb-finance.co.uk Geraldine Davies Director of Corporate Communications Lloyds TSB Group plc 020 7356 2078 E-mail: daviesg1@lloydstsb.co.uk Copies of this news release may be obtained from Investor Relations, Lloyds TSB Group plc, 71 Lombard Street, London EC3P 3BS (telephone 020 7356 1273). Information about the Group's role in the community and copies of the Group's code of business conduct and its environmental report may be obtained by writing to Public Affairs, Lloyds TSB Group plc, 71 Lombard Street, London EC3P 3BS. The full news release can also be found on the Internet at http://www.lloydstsbgroup.com. Page 42 of 42
UK 100