A 165 billion pound loan keeping Lloyds afloat: Report

Lloyds inherited most of the government loans from HBOS after it agreed to acquire the bank in September 2008. Top 10 US bankruptcies | More on Financial crisis

By PTI | Nov 08, 2009, 04.05 PM IST

LONDON: British banking major Lloyds Banking Group is being kept afloat with a whopping 165 billion pound of loans and guarantees from the Bank of England and other central banks around the world, a media report said.

Citing a detailed document released last week in connection with a separate 21 billion pound fund-raising, The Sunday Times said: "The bank (Lloyds) is still 'heavily reliant' on government funding." As per the document, Lloyds drew down further loans early this year.

The government has extended the money through two funding plans -- the Special Liquidity Scheme, which gives loans, and the Credit Guarantee Scheme, under which guarantees are given to allow banks to get commercial loans.

"The support is nearly equal to the 175 billion pound of UK government borrowing to be raised this year, and almost as big as the Bank of England's 200 billion pound quantitative easing programme," the report added.

Lloyds inherited most of the government loans from HBOS after it agreed to acquire the bank in September 2008.

The report further said : The bank (Lloyds) said the loans should be seen in the context of its one trillion pound balance sheet, and said all western banks received state help during the crisis.

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