Lloyds boss accepts concern over use of staff data in pay talks

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has acknowledged there have been concerns over its use of information from staff bank accounts as part of pay negotiations.

Charlie Nunn said "we have definitely listened" after the UK's biggest lender was criticised for comparing employees' spending habits to the wider public to show if they weathered the cost-of-living crisis better.

The group was found to have looked at the data of staff who banked with Lloyds, along with the saving rates and salary increases of its lowest paid workers, and assessed them against its customers.

In a recent town hall meeting with staff, Nunn said the revelation "obviously has created some concern".

In comments first reported by The Times, he added: "We haven't yet fully worked out what we will do differently going forward, although I think we should just do the investigation fully." During the same event, the Lloyds chief made clear to staff that he stood by the approach taken by the bank.

Lloyds said there is no formal investigation into the use of staff account data, but that bosses were reflecting on the tactics ahead of next year's pay talks.

The bank faced questions from information watchdog the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) over the episode, but it has not faced a formal ICO probe.

Lloyds used what it described as "aggregated, anonymised data" to "ensure compliance with regulations and to reflect common practice of using data to underpin decision-making".

In a presentation, it told unions its workers' finances fared better than those of the wider public in recent years.

Employees are actively encouraged to bank with Lloyds and sign up for accounts as a condition of employment.

The pay talks saw junior colleagues eventually offered increases of between 7% and 9%, with salaries jumping by £1,200 this year and next, to a minimum of £27,400.

Unions recognised by the bank welcomed the pay agreement, with Accord general secretary Get Nichols saying at the time the analysis was "really helpful".

But Mark Brown, general secretary of the Affinity union, which represents Lloyds' employees but is not recognised by the group, said the bank had "no legitimate reason" to access staff accounts.

On Monday, a Lloyds spokesperson said: "Lloyds Banking Group is committed to fair and progressive pay that provides certainty and support for all colleagues, and in this case more junior colleagues.

"We have worked hard with our unions, using aggregated data and direct colleague input and we are pleased that members of our recognised unions have voted to support our competitive multi-year pay proposal for 2026 and 2027 by a significant majority."