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Lloyds to bombard 17m customers with enticing deals and 'relaunch' Halifax with best buys.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/sav...best-buys.html
Lloyds is to bombard 17million customers with enticing insurance and investment deals as it makes a push to ‘return to profit’ in 2011.
The 41 per cent taxpayer-owned bank is also working on ‘innovative’ products that will shoot its Halifax brand to the top of the best buy lists in September, This is Money has learned.
It’s all part of a wide-ranging strategic review unveiled last week by new Lloyds chief executive António Horta-Osório, who joined the bank from Santander in March.
A spokesman said Mr Horta-Osório is ‘very keen to maintain high visibility on the best buy lists’ for the Halifax brand.
It could provide a boost for savers who are struggling against average rates of just 0.9 per cent.
In the meantime, the bank will target 17million Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland customers with the better life insurance, income protection and long-term investment products from its Scottish Widows arm.
The emphasis is on rewarding loyalty among existing customers; the result will be clued-up branch staff trying to 'cross-sell' deals as they talk to customers, as well as a barrage of adverts through customers' letterboxes.
‘We believe there are 17million of our customers who would be interested in other products but only two million of them buy anything at the moment,’ Lloyds said. ‘We hope to grow this to 3m.’
Lloyds will be acutely aware of the need for a cautious approach to selling after its payment protection insurance (PPI) nightmare.
The bank has already written off £3bn to cover mis-sold PPI policies – an outlay mirrored at a number of other High Street banks after they were ordered to repay premiums by the High Court this year.
The news product push comes as Lloyds plans a serious reduction in its overseas presence. It is currently active in 30 countries. Over the next three years it will reduce this by half.
The Halifax is still seen as tarnished from its bailout during the financial crisis of 2008. Mr Horta-Osório hopes that relaunching it this September with a new advertising campaign and new products will rejuvenate the business.
There is an urgency to get back to profit, particularly because we are part-owned by the taxpayer,’ Lloyds’ spokesman said.
Mr Horta-Osório left Santander last March with the bank suffering from a reputation for poor customer service. The Spanish bank had actively fought to lure in customers with scorching best buys - the 3.5% Flexible Isa 2 in March 2010 for example - but was then swamped with new customers and struggled to cope.
It also had difficulties amalgamating millions of new customers after snapping up flailing High Street names Alliance & Leicester and Abbey National. Santander eventually admitted that not enough had been spent enough 'per customer', with service levels suffering as a result. The Spanish bank spent 39p to make every £1 of profit in 2010; since Mr Horta-Osório left, it's committed itself to spending more in the hope of pushing down complaints levels.
Halifax customers will be concerned to learn that Mr Horta-Osório is now trying to lower the cost-income ratio at Lloyds and use Halifax as a best buy platform to lure in customers. He hopes the cost income ratio will fall to 42 - 44 per cent.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/sav...best-buys.html
Lloyds is to bombard 17million customers with enticing insurance and investment deals as it makes a push to ‘return to profit’ in 2011.
The 41 per cent taxpayer-owned bank is also working on ‘innovative’ products that will shoot its Halifax brand to the top of the best buy lists in September, This is Money has learned.
It’s all part of a wide-ranging strategic review unveiled last week by new Lloyds chief executive António Horta-Osório, who joined the bank from Santander in March.
A spokesman said Mr Horta-Osório is ‘very keen to maintain high visibility on the best buy lists’ for the Halifax brand.
It could provide a boost for savers who are struggling against average rates of just 0.9 per cent.
In the meantime, the bank will target 17million Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland customers with the better life insurance, income protection and long-term investment products from its Scottish Widows arm.
The emphasis is on rewarding loyalty among existing customers; the result will be clued-up branch staff trying to 'cross-sell' deals as they talk to customers, as well as a barrage of adverts through customers' letterboxes.
‘We believe there are 17million of our customers who would be interested in other products but only two million of them buy anything at the moment,’ Lloyds said. ‘We hope to grow this to 3m.’
Lloyds will be acutely aware of the need for a cautious approach to selling after its payment protection insurance (PPI) nightmare.
The bank has already written off £3bn to cover mis-sold PPI policies – an outlay mirrored at a number of other High Street banks after they were ordered to repay premiums by the High Court this year.
The news product push comes as Lloyds plans a serious reduction in its overseas presence. It is currently active in 30 countries. Over the next three years it will reduce this by half.
The Halifax is still seen as tarnished from its bailout during the financial crisis of 2008. Mr Horta-Osório hopes that relaunching it this September with a new advertising campaign and new products will rejuvenate the business.
There is an urgency to get back to profit, particularly because we are part-owned by the taxpayer,’ Lloyds’ spokesman said.
Mr Horta-Osório left Santander last March with the bank suffering from a reputation for poor customer service. The Spanish bank had actively fought to lure in customers with scorching best buys - the 3.5% Flexible Isa 2 in March 2010 for example - but was then swamped with new customers and struggled to cope.
It also had difficulties amalgamating millions of new customers after snapping up flailing High Street names Alliance & Leicester and Abbey National. Santander eventually admitted that not enough had been spent enough 'per customer', with service levels suffering as a result. The Spanish bank spent 39p to make every £1 of profit in 2010; since Mr Horta-Osório left, it's committed itself to spending more in the hope of pushing down complaints levels.
Halifax customers will be concerned to learn that Mr Horta-Osório is now trying to lower the cost-income ratio at Lloyds and use Halifax as a best buy platform to lure in customers. He hopes the cost income ratio will fall to 42 - 44 per cent.
