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The UK's consumer confidence is showing signs of improvement, according to one of the country's biggest banks
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Lloyd's Banking Group noted positive signs for the economy as it reported higher than expected profits on Wednesday
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That was mainly due to the bank setting aside much less than expected for bad loans
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These impairment charges came in at 172 million pounds between July and September
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While that was up from 44 million pounds the previous quarter, it was well below the 271 million expected by ysts
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The group has more than 27 million customers and owns brands including Lloyd's Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows
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As the UK's biggest mortgage lender, Lloyd is considered a bellwether for the strength or weakness of the UK economy
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The bank said it continued to see increased confidence in customer activity and that its low impairment charge reflected the fact that its borrowers were resilient
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In other positive signs for the economy, Lloyds reported a 5% increase in customers' spending on non-essential items so far this year
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average spending on energy bills fell 20%. Overall, Lloyd's profits dropped slightly to 1.8 billion
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pounds during the quarter as interest rates have started to come down. Still, its total loans
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rose by 4.6 billion pounds over the three months and a sign that consumers were ready to borrow
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more money. Lloyds expects the Bank of England to cut interest rates one more time this year
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and three more times in 2025. For more on the story, visit citiam.com and follow us on socials
