Lloyds share price: Group seeks to hire FinTech head

Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) is looking to hire a ‘Head of FinTech Discovery,’ as part of its £1 billion digital transformation programme. The news comes after reports suggested last week that the lender’s digital boss was leaving the company.

Lloyds’ share price meanwhile has slipped into negative territory, having lost 0.37 percent to 56.79p as of 13:27 BST. The stock is underperforming the broader London market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.71 percent higher at 6,862.15 points. The group’s shares, which have lost more than 22 percent of their value this year, are trading well below the government’s break-even price of 73.6p.
Lloyds has posted a job listing, saying that it seeks to hire a ‘Head of FinTech Discovery’ who will have to “focus on initiatives to drive opportunities for innovation and FinTech” in the company and “spot patterns of potential partnerships and investments”. The lender, bailed out by the UK government during the financial crisis, noted that it is undertaking a three year programme to invest £1 billion in digital transformation, with 52 percent of the group’s retail, consumer finance and insurance products now met digitally.
“Technology in all walks of life is driving different expectations from customers for their banking services – we need to respond to this,” a spokesperson for the company told Business Insider, which first reported the news. “Our challenge is to understand what is happening in our industry, what forces are shaping the future of banking and how we can respond to these opportunities and solve real customer problems.”
In analyst ratings, Jefferies, which sees Lloyds as a ‘buy,’ lowered its price target on the stock from 68p to 67p yesterday. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed the bailed-out lender as a ‘hold’ last week, without specifying a valuation on the shares.
As of 13:55 BST, Tuesday, 20 September, Lloyds Banking Group share price is 59.42p.