Lloyds' losses persist

Delinquent commercial property loans continue to be a drag on the business of Lloyds Banking Group in Australia, though not quite as severely as in the recent past.

Lloyds said impairment losses in Australian dollar terms decreased by seven per cent over the June 2010 half year compared with the December 2009 half.

Lloyds said that on an annualised basis impairment losses as a percentage of average loans was unchanged in the latest half at 6.3 per cent.

The bank overnight reported impairment losses, in sterling, of £454 million for the June 2010 half, equal to 3.5 per cent of a loan book of £12.7 billion. In the December 2009 half the losses were £408 million and equal to 3.1 per cent of loans.

Impaired loans at Lloyds increased to £2.63 billion at June 2010, up from £2.03 billion at December 2009. Impairment provisions as a percentage of loans increased to 55.5 per cent at June 2010 compared with 47.6 per cent six months earlier.

Lloyds noted a "lack of market sentiment" as a constraint on recovery on its troubled loans, especially in non-metropolitan markets. The bank cited the same explanation for difficulty in recovering loans in New Zealand.