Lloyds

Despite Lloyds posting losses this morning of £3.9bn for the year to date, Cavendish's Paul Mumford has urged investors to snap up shares in the bank as he said they could double in value in the next five years.

Lloyds Banking Group has reported a statutory loss of £3.9bn in the first nine months of 2011 after being hit with a £3.2bn provision for PPI claims.

Shares in Lloyds Banking Group have dropped by 5% after the company announced CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio was taking a temporary leave of absence.

The chief executive officer of part-nationalised British lender Lloyds Banking Group, Antonio Horta-Osorio, is taking a leave of absence for health reasons, a source with knowledge of the matter said according to reports.

UK banking stocks drove this morning's FTSE 100 rally, with Barclays, RBS and Lloyds all surging roughly 6% on the news a eurozone debt deal has been reached.

Banks shares extended losses this afternoon as Fitch Ratings downgraded Lloyds and RBS' long-term credit rating from AA- to A and placed Barclays on a negative watch.

B(L)ANK CHEQUES

Bank shares have deepened losses after the downgrade of 12 UK financial institutions by Moody's, pushing the FTSE 100 into negative territory.

Tim Tookey, Lloyds' finance director, is to resign from the group to become chief financial officer at Friends Life.

The final set of recommendations from the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) has provoked a mixed response from commentators, with some warning the cost of the move could drive up risk taking by the banks, while others welcome the 'safety measures'...