The FTSE 100 company, which was fined �10.5m in April for mis-selling to thousands of customers, also rejected calls to forgo any executive bonuses, instead cutting them by 40pc.

Lloyds said it was confident in its capital position and re-affirmed previous targets for its core tier 1 ratio. Antonio Horta-Osorio, the Lloyds chief executive, said: "Our strong capital position enables the group to actively support growth and lending in the UK ...

Nationwide Building Society, the U.K.'s largest customer-owned lender, said full-year pretax profit rose 3.4 percent as higher impairments in its property finance business offset growth at its consumer unit.

On Wednesday, the IMF presents its annual healthcheck on the UK and the international body is expected to suggest that deficit reduction should be slowed amid anaemic growth.

Lost tax revenue from money salted away offshore is costing governments more than $150bn (�99bn) a year, Oxfam has found - enough to eliminate extreme poverty across the globe twice over.

The pound fell to a four-week low against the euro before the Bank of England publishes the minutes of this month's monetary policy meeting.

... Comments. � Japan reports worst April trade deficit � Power giant SSE pre-tax profit up 5.6pc � Europe faces lost decade, says Mark Carney � US and Canada eye Royal Mail stakes after privatisation � Apple: 'We pay every dollar of tax we owe' ...

Fiat Industrial aims to move its tax residency to the UK from Italy after a merger with US business CNH to take advantage of a lighter fiscal regime, according to a regulatory filing.

More than 50 English beaches have met tough new EU standards to receive Blue Flag awards, recognising their high standards and water quality.

The taxman had expected to save �8bn by 2015 from reducing errors and fraud in the administration of tax credits, but is expected to miss its target by �5bn.