BANKING group Lloyds TSB said growth in its mortgage book and credit card business was helping it deliver full-year trading in line with expectations.
The bank said it was positioned for an improved performance next year after a difficult year to date saw it freeze its half-year dividend in August.
Analysts expect Lloyds TSB, one of the UK's "Big Four" banks, to post underlying pre-tax profits of £3.34bn for the year to December 31, compared with £2.61bn last year.
Its loans were nine per cent ahead in the nine months to September 30 on a year ago at £146bn, buoyed by product launches and the acquisition of the Goldfish Bank credit card and personal loan businesses in September.
Deposits were up five per cent in the nine months to £121.6bn, reflecting good growth in current account balances, savings and investment accounts.
Eric Daniels, group chief executive, said: "Significant progress has been made in the first nine months of 2003 to reduce volatility and position the group for growth. Our underlying performance has improved, costs have been tightly controlled and asset quality remains good."
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