Lloyds Banking plans to cut 9 000 jobs

Britain's state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group announced on Tuesday that it planned to cut 9 000 jobs by the end of 2017 to slash costs.



"In order to make the Group more efficient, we expect to exit 2017 with a cost:income ratio of around 45 percent and are targeting reductions in each year of the plan," LBG said in a statement.



"We also anticipate a reduction of 9 000 full-time roles by the end of 2017 and plan to make further simplification savings of £1 billion ($1.6 billion, 1.27 billion euros) per annum by the end of 2017." LBG will also close about 150 branches over the period.



The bank, which remains 25-percent owned by the British taxpayer, is cutting its headcount by about one tenth, having already axed tens of thousands of staff since the 2008 financial crisis that triggered a multi-billion-pound state bailout of the lender.