Lloyds profits fall as competition for mortgages heats up

Pre-tax profits drop to £1.6bn between January and March, down from £2.3bn last year

Lloyds Banking Group has posted a 28% drop in profits for the first three months of the year as intense competition in the mortgage and savings market hit its earnings.

The country’s largest mortgage lender, which owns the Halifax brand, said pre-tax profits dropped to £1.6bn between January and March, having fallen from £2.3bn last year when rising interest rates boosted the lender’s profits by almost 50%.