Lloyds TSB reported poor financial results for the first six months of the year, but will continue investing in technology to support new products and services and boost revenue.

Overall profit for the period fell by 70 per cent, due to a £585m hit caused by its exposure to bad debt, but a productivity programme which hopes to slash £250m off the bank's cost base is underway. The plan involves upgrading Lloyds internet platform and other customer-facing innovations.

“While a great deal of our investment is focused towards new products and services, investment is also used to deliver sustained cost and productivity improvements through flexible resourcing, lean processing and procurement initiatives,” said Eric Daniels, group chief executive at Lloyds TSB.

“Income is reinvested in the business each year across people, systems and infrastructure to support new products and services, and to drive cross sales income,” said Daniels.