...LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) Dec. 20, 2016--S&P Global Ratings said today that its ratings and outlook on Lloyds Banking Group (Lloyds; ###+/Negative/A-2) and subsidiaries are not affected by today's announcement that Lloyds has agreed to acquire MBNA Ltd., a U.K. credit card issuer. The transaction remains subject to competition and regulatory approvals, but could complete in the first half of 2017. The deal is notable in being Lloyds' first significant acquisition since the group's troubled acquisition of HBOS PLC at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent deleveraging. We see the acquisition as being in line with Lloyds' aspirations to grow its consumer finance portfolio without any significant or sustained weakening in its capitalization. The deal size (ú7 billion of gross assets acquired at a cost of ú1.9 billion) is modest for a group with ú850 billion total assets, but would transform Lloyds' market share in the profitable U.K. consumer cards segment from 15% to 26%,...
