Bank buys wealth platform Embark
Dividend restored as bad loan fears recede
LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) swung to a first-half profit on Thursday and announced an interim dividend, boosted by a house-buying frenzy and improved economic outlook in Britain.
The positive update from the bellwether mortgage lender came after rival Barclays (BARC.L) also posted upbeat earnings on Wednesday, and showed how banks' profits are recovering as fears of pandemic-related bad loans ebb.
Lloyds posted pretax profit of 3.9 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) for the six months to June, ahead of the 3.1 billion pound average of analyst forecasts compiled by the bank.