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, the UK's largest retail bank, said it would not need to issue new shares or sell other securities to meet fresh regulatory capital requirements.

Tax authorities from the UK, US and Australia are to join together to investigate tax evasion from some of the wealthiest people in the world after receiving huge amounts of data from a whistle-blower.

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

South African inflation was unchanged in April as a decline in the value of the rand added to the cost of imports, countering the effect of lower international fuel prices.