Lloyds to cut 3,000 jobs after warning of post-Brexit slowdown

Lloyds Banking Group has unveiled plans to close 200 branches and cull an extra 3,000 jobs after it warned of a slowdown in the wake of Britain's vote in favour of leaving the European Union.

The FTSE 100-listed lender said on Thursday (28 July) that it is targeting a further £400m ($527.2m, €475.7m) in cost savings by the end of next year, in addition to the plan it announced in 2014, which included cutting 9,000 jobs in a bid to save £1bn by the end of 2017.

Following the EU referendum the outlook for the UK economy is uncertain and, while the precise impact is dependent upon a number of factors, including EU negotiations and political and economic events, a deceleration of growth seems likely," said group chief executive António Horta-Osório.

News of the job cuts came as the banking giant announced it has more than doubled its first-half pre-tax profit, which rose to £2.5bn in the six months to end of June compared with £1.2bn in the corresponding period in 2015.

However, the bank's underlying profits, which strip out exceptional costs, fell to £4.2bn from £4.4bn but managed to beat expectations for a £4bn reading.

The lender, which is 9% owned by the government, reaffirmed guidance for the full year and declared an interim dividend of 0.85p per share, 13% higher year-on-year.