On Wednesday 24th March 2010 Eric Daniels, Group CEO, will present to investors at the Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference. The presentation will focus on the opportunities for the Group to build sustainable earnings momentum and will update the guidance provided to investors in the Group's 2009 preliminary results announcement on 26th February 2010, and will provide the following short update on current trading.

The statement added: 'We are pleased with the Group's performance against each area of recent guidance. The banking net interest margin is trending in line with recent guidance and this has supported a good level of income growth, on a combined businesses basis and excluding last year's gains from liability management transactions.

'Costs have remained well controlled and are lower than the equivalent period in 2009. Impairment provisions are currently trending at lower levels than anticipated and as a result the Group now expects to deliver a better impairment performance than previously guided, in both the retail and corporate businesses, in 2010. Overall, based on the Group's current economic and regulatory assumptions which remain unchanged since our recent 2009 preliminary results announcement, the Group believes that it will be profitable on a combined businesses basis in 2010.'

The Group will publish its Interim Management Statement on 27th April 2010. Story provided by Business Financial Newswire