Lloyds branch offload bill £1.3bn

Lloyds Banking Group revealed the bill for offloading more than 600 branches under the TSB brand is likely to reach £1.3 billion after its deal with The Co-operative collapsed last week.

The taxpayer-backed lender said the costs of the branch spin-off were already near £1 billion and would rise by up to another £300 million as it presses ahead with a flotation for the middle of 2014, if it can gain European Commission approval to extend a year-end deadline.

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