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Lloyds Banking (LON:LLOY) put in a flat performance in its latest quarter ahead of the sale of the remainder of its stake by the UK government.
Profits in the three month to September rose by 28% to £958mln, though the bank was gain forced to add another £500mln to provision for PPI (payment protection insurance) mis-selling.
Lloyds has now set aside £14bn for PPI mis-selling claims, the most of any of the main high street banks.
Underlying profits though fell by 3% excluding the divested TSB business, while total income fell 4% to £4.2bn and was put down to tough trading in the commercial bank and insurance businesses.
For the first nine months of 2015 so far, Lloyds posted an underlying profit of £6.4bn (£6bn) and pre-tax profits of £2.15bn (£1.6bn).
Antonio Horta–Osorio, chief executive, said Lloyds had enjoyed a strong year so far helped by a significant reduction in impairment charges and lower costs.
The UK government acquired a 43% stake in Lloyds when it rescued it from collapse during the height of the 2008 financial crisis.
That stake has reduced steadily in recent years to 11%, with the remainder to be sold next year including a retail sale of £2bn worth.
Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it was mulling a 2018 deadline for PPI claims, but this was criticised today by Lloyds’ finance director George Culmer who said that window was too long.
Shares eased 4.5% to 74p.