''The banking bounce back has continued with
Pre-tax profit for the period rose to
The dividend is back but it's not the bread and butter of better loan margins behind the push up in profits. Revenues are down 4% as the ultra-low interest rate environment still bites and the huge investment trading upswing during the first half last year subsided.
Instead the worse-case scenario of an increase in bad loans hasn't materialised, so the bank has been confident enough to release over
Given the frightening twists the global economy has had to deal with due to the emergence of new variants, the worry is that there could still be monsters lurking under the bed, so the bank is keen to stress it views the recovery as still in the early stages. If inflation lingers, central banks may be minded to push up rates more quickly but that still looks like it is quite far down the road.
As well as expanding its overall wealth business, the bank has been shifting to
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Media Contact:
susannah.streeter@hl.co.uk
07527 384747
@StreeterNews
About us
Over 1.6 million clients trust us with £132.9 billion (as at
Our purpose is to empower people to save and invest with confidence and help them build their financial resilience over the long-term. We provide a lifelong, secure home for people's savings and investments that offers great value and an incredible service making their financial life easy.
Clients rate our service highly, 90% say we are good, very good or excellent. Our expert research has been helping investors for almost 40 years through thick and thin.
In 2018, we also launched Active Savings, an online cash savings platform that lets savers move money easily between partner banks and building societies to help their money work harder without the hassle.
Find out more about HL and our history, what it's like to work with us, and how we support our community, including our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Press centre: https://www.hl.co.uk/about-us/press
Investor relations: www.hl.co.uk/investor-relations
.
(C) 2021 M2 COMMUNICATIONS, source