Lloyds speaks to advisers about potential insurance M&A, reports say

Lloyds Banking Group is planning to expand its insurance brand Scottish Widows via several acquisitions, according to reports.

The lender has spoken to several City of London firms about potential acquisition targets and was not looking to divest the business, Sky News reported.

A Lloyds spokesman confirmed that the bank was "looking at how we continue to focus on growing our insurance business where we believe we have competitive advantage through our sector expertise and scale".

When Scottish Widows chief Toby Strauss stepped down last autumn after four years at the company, group CEO António Horta-Osório appointed consumer finance director Antonio Lorenzo as his replacement and said the strategy remained to further integrate the insurance business within the wider banking group.