Lloyds reports £3.5bn loss

The bank, which is 41% owned by the UK taxpayer, had made a pre-tax profit of £281m in 2010. Last year, it set aside £3.2bn to cover PPI claims. Its bonus payments for 2011 were £375m, down 30% on the previous year. Lloyds' chief executive, Antonio Horta-Osorio, said in a statement:"We expect the external environment to remain challenging in 2012, with a subdued economy, continued high levels of regulatory scrutiny and political uncertainty relating to the banking sector, and the continued potential for downside effects from financial market volatility and instability in the eurozo...