LONDON — Lloyds Banking Group has agreed the sale of 632 branches to the Co-Operative Group, concluding a process aimed at boosting competition in British high-street banking and streamlining its business at the behest of regulators. Lloyds — which is 40 percent owned by the government — said the Co-Op would pay 350 million pounds ($546.79 million) for the branches and up to 400 million pounds in additional payments in a deal creating another major British bank. The deal will bring 4.8 million new customers to Co-Op's burgeoning brand, including 3.1 million current account holders, and means the Co-Op will run around 1,000 branches, or approximately 10 percent of the UK network. “People have lost trust in the financial services sector. Now we can provide a big bank, a challenger bank, that people can really trust." Co-op Group CEO Peter Marks told a conference call. The additional payments will be based on the performance of the combined Co-Op business from completion until 2027. “Today's agreement is an important step in meeting our obligations under the mandated sale of our branches. We believe the Co-operative will be a good owner for our business, customers and colleagues," Lloyds CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio said in a statement. The portfolio of branches had been expected to fetch as much as 1.5 billion pounds for Lloyds but the bank said that its loss on disposal would be broadly offset by lower capital requirements and would not have a material impact on the future profitability of the group. — Reuters
