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 Banking Group is at the top of the FTSE 100 after the part-nationalised bank said it will not need to issue new equity to meet regulatory capital requirements.

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.

International Monetary Fund predicted the economy would grow 6.75 per cent in the 2013/2014 financial year, driven by gas production and investment.

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.

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.

Wed May 22, 2013 2:56am EDT. * European leaders meet to discuss tax, energy policy. * Tax avoidance schemes by major companies on agenda.