Lloyds tries to turn page on ECN era

摘要

Lloyds bank is seeking to buy back or redeem all of its remaining Enhanced Capital Notes and turn the page on the institution's dark days, despite an ongoing legal battle with investors who queried the bank's right to call the bonds. The high-interest notes were issued in 2009 as part of a £22.5bn capital raise to bring the bank back to health and to count as stress-test core capital. However, they have since lost much of their regulatory capital value as new rules have been implemented, and have become an albatross around Lloyds' neck. Some £3.3bn-equivalent of the original £8.4bn-equivalent issued is still outstanding. The UK lender announced on Friday afternoon that it was launching tenders on more than £2.6bn-equivalent of the ECNs. Any remaining bonds will then be redeemed at face value.