Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £64m by Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over its treatment of mortgage customers who are suffering payment difficulties.
According to the City regulator, the banking group’s three brands did not provide support to customers in arrears between 2011 and 2015.
Mark Steward, from the FCA, said: “By not sufficiently understanding their customers’ circumstances the banks risked treating unfairly more than a quarter of a million customers in mortgage arrears, over several years. In some cases, customers were treated unfairly, including vulnerable customers.”
The fine received by Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, and The Mortgage Business is the biggest given by the FCA for mortgage failures.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokeswoman said: “We have contacted all customers who were affected between 2011 and 2015 to apologise and have already reimbursed all who were charged fees at the time.”
“Customers do not need to take any action. We have since taken significant steps to enhance how we support mortgage customers experiencing financial difficulty, including investing in colleague training and procedures.”
The banking group must pay the fine on top of £300m in compensation to the 526,000 customers affected. According to the FCA, all customers affected had already been contacted and reimbursed.
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group (LON: LLOY) are trading -6.48% at 32.75 (1310GMT).