Lloyds Banking Group has reported a 36% drop in its earnings for the third quarter as it felt the impact of an extra £800 million charge to compensate customers unfairly sold a car loan.

The bank reported a pre-tax profit of £1.2 billion between July and September.

This was more than a third lower than the £1.8 billion made over the same period last year, although it came in above the £1 billion profit that most analysts were expecting.

The group’s latest results take into account it setting aside more money to cover potential costs related to the UK regulator’s motor finance compensation scheme.

It took an additional £800 million charge over the third quarter, bringing its total compensation bill to an estimated £1.95 billion.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published proposals for a redress scheme after finding that payouts are due on around 14 million unfair car finance deals.

It calculated that each payout could average at about £700 per deal.

Lloyds’ finance chief William Chalmers said the bank was “concerned” about the watchdog’s proposed scheme which it thinks is “disproportionate” to the actual level of harm caused to consumers.

“We do think the proposals, as they stand right now, risk producing an anomalous outcome for customers, which is not a sensible place to be,” he said.

Mr Chalmers said the bank was hoping to have a “constructive dialogue” with the FCA and refused to say whether or not it could proceed with a potential legal challenge.

Lloyds said its lending has grown over 2025, including mortgages, credit cards and motor finance – with loans increasing by 4% across the first nine months of the year.

Current account and savings account balances also grew this year as its customers spent less and saved more.

Mr Chalmers said the trend reflected wage growth boosting its customers’ balances, as well as “patterns of probably slightly lower spend than previously”.

Chief executive Charlie Nunn said: “The group continues to perform well, demonstrating robust financial performance alongside strategic progress, including our recent acquisition of Schroders Personal Wealth.”

Mr Nunn said the bank benefited from income growth and cost savings “despite the impact of the additional motor finance charge in the third quarter”.

Mumbai: The Indian stock markets opened on a strong note on Thursday, even as global cues remained mixed.  

The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, started the session with solid gains, driven largely by strength in IT stocks.

The Sensex opened 727.81 points higher at 85,154.15, while the Nifty reclaimed the 26,000 mark, opening 188.6 points higher at 26,057.20.

“For now, upside objective is set at 26186, with 26800 appearing as an optimistic objective,” market experts said.

“Meanwhile, downside marker is placed at 25780, but an outright reversal is not expected today,” they added.

Among the top performers on the BSE were Infosys, HCLTech, and Tech Mahindra, which saw healthy buying interest.

On the other hand, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, and Power Grid were among the major laggards.

Similar trends were seen on the NSE, where Infosys, HCLTech, and Tech Mahindra led the gains, while IndiGo, Eicher Motors, and Sun Pharma Life witnessed selling pressure.

Broader market indices also traded higher, with the Nifty SmallCap 100 rising 0.33 per cent and the Nifty MidCap 100 climbing 0.44 per cent.

Sector-wise, the Nifty IT index emerged as the top gainer, up 1.84 per cent, while the Nifty Realty index was the only one in the red, slipping 0.08 per cent.

Analysts said that investors showed renewed optimism in the market, with strong buying seen in technology shares supporting the early trade momentum.

Reports of an imminent trade deal between India and the US is doing the rounds in market circles and the market reaction through Nifty implied open confirms this, experts said.

“Comments from President Donald Trump and responses from Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicate an early trade deal. The expected deal involves some concessions from both sides,” they added.

Meanwhile, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) extended their buying streak for the fifth consecutive session on October 21, as they bought equities worth Rs 96 crore.

NEW DELHI: India’s economic dashboard is getting a long-overdue makeover in early 2026. From GDP and retail inflation to industrial output, several major measures of economic activity will be updated to reflect how people live, earn and spend today. A new index to track the booming services sector — from logistics to digital platforms — will also make its debut, offering a sharper picture of what drives the country’s growth.First off the block will be the GDP data, with 2022-23 prices, which will be unveiled on Feb 27 when advance estimates are released. This means that the budget-making exercise, which depends on the first advance estimates released Jan 7, will use the existing series. In Feb, the ministry of statistics and programme implementation will put out the updated retail inflation data, with 2023-24 base, measuring price rise for Jan.

And, in April, the new index of industrial production with a 2022-23 base will be released. This will be followed by the services sector index, estimating the largest component in India’s economy for the first time. The index has been in the making for close to two decades and seen to be crucial, especially as the role of new sectors, such as the digital economy and logistics, increases in everyday life.The new data line-up is seen to be the biggest upgrade in recent years with the base year set to be changed after over a decade. Currently, official estimates are based on 2011-12 prices and the consumption basket has also seen a massive change in these years, with the share of food coming down and products such as smartphones becoming mass-used items, replacing feature phones.Besides, it seeks to tackle crucial gaps in the current data, where products such as food offered through the public distribution system, do not carry any expenditure share since there is no out of pocket spend by households. The ministry is currently undertaking a revision of the consumer price index (CPI) with the objective of updating item weights, revising the consumption basket and incorporating methodological improvements to strengthen the index.