The group reported a pre-tax profit of £6.9bn in 2021, which compares to £1.2bn in 2020.
However, this was below the £7.2bn forecast as the bank paid out charges of £1.3bn including £600m for costs relating to historic fraud.
Lloyds said its results had also been boosted by the release of £1.2bn of reserves which had been set aside to deal with pandemic loan defaults which it said had not occurred.
It added that it has exceeded its £10bn target for lending to first-time buyers, and over £16bn had been lent to over 80,000 customers.
Lloyds’ new chief executive Charlie Nunn said the lender was committed to helping customers. Nunn took over Lloyds in August to replace Antonio Horta-Osorio, who left to serve as chairman of Credit Suisse.
He said: “This is a fantastic business, and we have a clear purpose that resonates well with our people, stakeholders and the communities we serve. I believe there are huge opportunities for the group to do more and make the most of our competitive strengths.”
The group includes Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows and Schroeder’s Personal Wealth.
Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that as a more traditional bank, Lloyds had more exposure to the ups and downs of the UK’s economy.
He said: “While slightly more sheltered from international turbulence, the tragedy of the Ukraine crisis and the unknown implications have made their presence known in the UK’s market. An escalation could well breed reduced consumer confidence here, which would be a tough environment for Lloyds.
“Lloyds has the UK’s biggest branch network, meaning it’s a bread-and-butter current account and lending house. That makes recent interest rate hikes especially welcome, as does the better-than-expected macroeconomic backdrop in the wake of Covid.
He added: “All that means, much like its peers, is that it’s sitting on an unimaginably big pile of excess capital. The top slice of which is coming back to shareholders via buybacks – which also echoes moves by other banks in recent days.”
