Lloyds Banking Group Reaffirms Its Commitment to Helping Britain Prosper
Lloyds Banking Group today publishes its latest Helping Britain Prosper Plan update. The Group recognises that people, businesses and communities are facing significant social and economic challenges and the Plan is our measurable response. We believe no other bank is better placed to help Britain: the Group serves approximately 25 million customers, 1 million small businesses and is the UK’s largest digital bank. The Plan highlights the commitment to use the Group’s size and reach to go beyond businesses as usual and address core issues such as the housing shortage, sustainable business growth, social disadvantage and saving for the future.
“The Helping Britain Prosper Plan captures the commitments we’re making to help the country economically and socially, which as a UK-focused retail and commercial bank we are uniquely placed to do.”
António Horta-Osório, Group Chief Executive
Together with a full overview of Responsible Business in the Annual Report, (published 22 February), the Helping Britain Prosper Plan update and further online Responsible Business content provide a detailed picture of the Group’s approach to doing business responsibly. The Group has again aligned its reporting to GRI G4 and conducted a full materiality review with a wide range of stakeholders, including customers, colleagues and opinion formers to ensure that we continue to address the key issues in a meaningful and sustainable way.
2016 Helping Britain Prosper Plan performance highlights include:
- The creation of more than 1,000 apprenticeship roles, ensuring the Group remains on course to achieve its target of 8,000 by 2020
- Providing £1.2 billion of new funding for UK manufacturing businesses
- Supporting 140 highly skilled manufacturing apprentices through a £5m sponsorship of the Lloyd Bank Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre in Coventry
- Helping businesses to grow and trade by supporting 121,000 start-ups and helping more than 10,000 businesses trade internationally for the first time.
- Enabling 320,000 hours of volunteering by colleagues to help community organisations and charities
- Donating £18.5m to the Group’s independent charitable Foundations to tackle disadvantage across the UK and Channel Islands. Through the Foundations the Group helped more than 3,700 charities in communities across the country.
- Empowering 23,000 ‘Digital Champion’ colleagues to help people and businesses improve their digital skills, and meeting our original target of 20,000 a year early.
The Helping Britain Prosper Plan was launched in 2014 and is reviewed annually to ensure it keeps pace with changes in the business and in the external environment. We believe no other bank is better placed to help the people, businesses and communities of the UK. This is a fundamental part of the Group’s strategy to be the best bank for customers.
Recognising the need for businesses to become more environmentally sustainable, we have developed a new target to incentivise green commercial real estate development.
Sara Weller, Independent Director and Chairman of the Responsible Business Board Committee commented:
“Helping Britain prosper is about creating opportunities for all to share in the economic and social benefits of a successful UK. As a sustainable, low-risk business we can support this success in many ways”
For more information
www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/RB
www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/ProsperPlan
Media Contacts:
Heather Scott
Helping Britain Prosper Media Relations Team,
Lloyds Banking Group
Telephone: 07770 643840
Emma Fairhurst
Media Relations Manager,
Lloyds Banking Group
Telephone: 0207 356 3585
