London, Jan 15, 2026, 08:54 GMT — Regular session
Lloyds Banking Group shares edged up in early London trade on Thursday, rising 0.35 pence, or about 0.35%, to 101.35 pence and holding near a recent 52-week high.
The move comes as investors lean into the UK bank trade ahead of results, after Morgan Stanley said the sector still had room to run and flagged Lloyds’ 2026 cost target as something the market may be underpricing. The broker said Lloyds is expected to stick with a 50% cost-to-income ratio goal for 2026 — a measure of expenses as a share of income — and forecast a fourth-quarter lift in net interest margin, the spread between what a bank earns on loans and pays on deposits.
Rate expectations are a complication. UK borrowing costs have eased to their lowest level since December 2024, with investors betting the Bank of England may cut rates further after December’s move, which can squeeze lenders’ interest income over time even as it supports loan demand.
Lloyds also put out a fresh business lending push this week, saying it would make more than £1 billion of new finance available to firms across the North East in 2026 as part of a broader £35 billion commitment for UK companies. “We’re backing businesses big and small,” said Emily Cox, a Lloyds Banking Group ambassador for the region. Lloyds Banking Group
But the stock has picked up a headline risk that is harder to model. The UK’s data watchdog is making inquiries after Lloyds used aggregated information drawn from around 30,000 staff accounts during pay talks, the Guardian reported, a step that could still widen into a formal investigation.
A regulatory filing this week also showed a handful of senior executives acquired small numbers of shares under the group’s share incentive plan in transactions dated Jan. 9 and carried out outside a trading venue.
Separately, Lloyds disclosed that Chief Executive Charlie Nunn and Chief Financial Officer William Chalmers received shares under a fixed share award in December, with the stock to be released over three years.
The next hard catalyst is Lloyds’ preliminary 2025 results on Jan. 29, with a management presentation scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in London. The annual report follows on Feb. 18.
