Lloyds takes credit write-down of $762.1M on credit woes

LONDON—Lloyds reported a write-down of $762.1 million Tuesday on credit-related assets in the first quarter.

The bank, nevertheless, said it remains "firmly on track to deliver a good performance in the first half of 2008."

Lloyds TSB Group PLC, Britain's fifth-largest bank by market capitalization, said the reduced pretax profit reflects adjustments on the value of assets in its trading portfolio.

The bank said high levels of volatility in fixed-income and lower equity markets contributed to "adverse volatility" of 474 million ($933.3 million) for its insurance business.

"Excluding the impact of market dislocation and insurance-related volatility, each division and the group delivered double-digit profit before tax growth in the first quarter of 2008," Chief Executive Eric Daniels said.

Speaking during a conference call after the bank gave a statement on its first-quarter performance, acting Chief Financial Officer Tim Tookey said the group's management is also comfortable that current capital levels can support Lloyds' growth plans.

His comments came in response to questions about whether Lloyds might follow in the footsteps of peers Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and HBOS PLC and ask shareholders to inject more capital into the group