The wealth segment of UK-listed Lloyds Banking Group, the bank that has received public aid from the UK government, reported a pre-tax profit of £101 million (around $171 million), a fall of 53 per cent from the same six months of 2008.

The segment made a total income of £688 million, a fall from £777 million a year ago.

As a result of the changing fortunes, the cost-income ratio rose to 81.4 per cent in the latest period, a rise from 70 per cent, Lloyds Banking Group said in a statement.

Lloyds Banking Group is the UK's largest mortgage lender; it bought HBOS, a rival UK bank, last year and as a result, inherited some of the large credit write-downs associated with the latter company.

“Wealth represents a key growth opportunity for the Group and, through deepening the relationships with existing Group clients alongside targeted external customer acquisition, our goal is to be recognised as the trusted advisor to expatriate and private banking clients both in the UK and selected international markets,” the bank said.

“Our initial focus in the UK will be to increase the penetration of our wealth offering into the Group's existing customer base by demonstrating that we can add real value. Outside the UK we will be building on the strengths of our brand portfolio and existing expatriate, offshore and international private banking propositions,” it added.

Across the entire firm, Lloyds Banking Group said it suffered a pre-tax loss of £3.96 billion, compared with a pre-tax profit of £2.8 billion in the same six months of 2008.

The banking group created a new segment, Wealth and International, this year. The business comprises private banking, wealth and asset management operations in the UK and overseas.

In addition the Group holds a 60 per cent stake in St James's Place, the UK wealth management firm, and a 55 per cent stake in Invista Real Estate, respectively the UK's largest independent listed wealth manager and real estate fund management group.