Lloyds Banking Group has reported strong profits in its first year as a fully private enterprise.

Pre-tax profit for 2017 was £5.3bn, 24 per cent higher than a year earlier, and the bank's highest profit since 2006, as reported by the BBC.

The government sold its last shares in Lloyds in May, eight years after pumping in £20bn to save it.

Lloyds, Britain's biggest mortgage provider, is planning to lend an additional £6bn to small businesses in the UK over the next three years and provide £10bn more to first time buyers. It's all part of the bank's efforts to adapt to changing consumer banking habits

While Lloyds' latest results are good news for shareholders, they're not so positive for branch staff or customers.

Lloyds has already announced there will be more than 900 job losses as the group focuses less on high street branches and more towards online services. But the bank said it would also be creating new posts.

Lloyds, which has a headquarters in Barnwood, has closed a number of branches in the county in recent years, including Newent, Winchcombe and Cheltenham.

Punchline says: "We don't expect the branch closures to slow down any time soon. Those branches are still essential for businesses and residents in small towns. The few branch staff Lloyds still has left are excellent and we feel for them."