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Published 20 April 2023

Lloyds Bank Loan Review: Pros, Cons & Features

Lloyds Bank offers personal loans but only existing customers of the bank can apply. Read our Lloyds Bank loan review.

Many or all of the products and brands we review are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and the product we choose in our ‘promotion’. However it doesn’t influence our reviews. Our opinions are our own.

Lloyds Bank personal loans: At a glance

Lloyds Bank offers a solid, all-round personal loan proposition, including the ability to access larger loan amounts, a fast turnaround time on the delivery of funds, and customer support options to suit all, including face to face in a branch. The one major drawback is that you need to hold a current account with the bank in order to take out a loan.  

Remember, if you’re considering a loan it’s sensible to only borrow what you need and pay it back as quickly as possible based on what you can comfortably afford to repay each month.

Promotion

Lloyds Bank Personal Loan

  • Representative APR
    5.9%
  • Representative Example
    Representative APR 5.9%. Based on a loan of £10,000 over 48 months at an interest rate of 5.75% p.a. (fixed). Monthly repayments of £233.69. Total amount payable £11,217.12. Maximum APR: 29.9%.
  • Available amounts
    £1,000 to £50,000
  • Available Terms
    1 to 7 years
  • Joint Loans
    Yes
Visit Website

Always check terms & conditions for suitability before applying.

Eligibility Criteria
  • Must be aged 18 or older
  • Must be a UK resident (excluding the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
  • Must have held a Lloyds Bank current account for at least one month
  • Must be in paid employment or have a regular income, and are not a full-time student
  • Must have a good credit score, with no history of bad credit, such as County Court Judgements (CCJs) or bankruptcy.

Learn more about how we bring you our review.

Lloyds Bank loans pros & cons

Pros

  • You could take two repayment holidays per year. 
  • You can get an approval decision in minutes.
  • You could receive funds straight away if approved.
  • You can get a joint loan.
  • You can get customer support from Lloyds Bank by phone, via its app or social media and in person at a branch.

Cons

  • You must be a Lloyds Bank current account holder.
  • Charges may apply if you pay off your loan in full early.
  • You can’t apply for a loan if you live in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.

The pros and cons featured here are chosen by us based on a combination of our expert opinions from our research of the personal loans market and an exclusive survey of UK consumers conducted on behalf of NerdWallet UK in February 2023 to identify the features of personal loans that people feel are most important. They are unlikely to be the only product features and restrictions that you should consider. Pros and Cons are subjective and you should align them to your own personal circumstances. Information was correct at the time of publication but may have changed since.

Lloyds Bank loan overview

Lloyds Bank is part of Lloyds Banking Group, alongside Bank of Scotland, Halifax and others, and a familiar high street banking name. Personal loans are one of many products and services the bank offers to individuals across the UK. 

Lloyds Bank offers unsecured personal loans to individual borrowers as well as those wanting to apply for a joint loan. However, it’s only possible to get a Lloyds Bank loan if you have a current account with the bank, which has been open for at least one month.   

A Lloyds Bank personal loan can be taken out for as little as £1,000 or as much £50,000. The loan term over which you must pay the loan back can be anywhere between one year and seven years. 

Loan amounts£1,000 to £50,000
Term lengthOne to seven years
Time to receive funds after approvalImmediately if application approved between 9am and 8:30pm, otherwise by 9am the next working day
Need to have an account with the provider?Yes
Customer supportPhone, in a branch, mobile app, social media
Trustpilot rating1.6 stars (5 April 2023)

Where Lloyds Bank personal loans stand out

It offers large loans: The maximum loan amount of £50,000 available through a Lloyds Bank personal loan will appeal to those looking for a larger loan. Many other lenders limit the amount they’re willing to offer to just £25,000.   

You can get fast approval and access to funds: Lloyds Bank says borrowers applying online can expect an instant approval decision and receive the funds straight away on decisions made between 9am and 8:30pm. If you’re outside the cut-off time, the funds will still land in your account before 9am the following working day. In either event, the turnaround is just about as fast as you can get.  

It offers joint loans: Lloyds Bank is among the band of providers that offers joint loans to those who want to borrow with others. Applying jointly with someone who has a higher income or better credit could work in your favour when it comes to getting approval or qualifying for the best rates.

You can opt to take a repayment holiday: With a Lloyds Bank personal loan you have the option to apply for two repayment holidays each year, if approved it allows you to take a break from making your payments for a given month. You may never need to use them, but it’s a good fallback to have and reassuring to have the option.

Where Lloyds Bank personal loans fall short

There is restricted availability: The need to be a Lloyds Bank current account holder to apply for a personal loan from the bank will instantly exclude this as an option for many borrowers. There are plenty of other lenders who don’t restrict the availability of their loans to existing customers. 

Bad credit loans are not available: Lloyds Bank’s eligibility criteria state that you need to have a good credit score to apply for a personal loan. Exactly how good your credit needs to be isn’t made clear, but if your credit rating is edging towards the poor or bad, it’s likely you’ll find it difficult to get a loan with Lloyds. 

What types of loan does Lloyds Bank offer? 

Unsecured loans

The personal loans that Lloyds Bank offer are unsecured loans, which means that you don’t have to put up an asset that you own, such as your home, as security against the loan. 

With an unsecured loan from Lloyds, you apply for the amount you want to borrow and, if approved, must then repay this amount, plus interest, in fixed monthly instalments over an agreed period of time, known as the loan term.

If having a good amount of time in which to pay back what you borrow is a priority, the maximum term of seven years is longer than some lenders allow but can also be beaten by others. 

The interest rate you’re offered will depend on your personal circumstances and the amount you apply for, but will be fixed if you decide to take out the loan, so you’ll always know what your monthly repayments will be. 

A consumer-friendly feature that Lloyds offers on its website is a loan calculator, which illustrates the monthly repayments and total amount you would repay overall at different interest rates. 

This is also helpful for non-Lloyds current account customers who don’t have the option to log on to get a personalised quote but would still like an indication of the payments they might face.    

The loan can be used for a variety of purposes, including home improvements, debt consolidation and to buy a car. 

» MORE: Try our personal loan calculator 

Joint loans

Not all lenders will allow you to take out a joint loan with a relative, partner or friend, but Lloyds Bank is one that does. The amounts you can borrow through a Lloyds joint personal loan are the same as with an individual loan, so between £1,000 and £50,000, while the loan terms that you can choose of between one and seven years are the same too.

If you want to apply for a joint loan from Lloyds Bank, you and the person you’re applying with will both need to have been current account holders at the bank for at least one month. Neither party must have a bad credit history or have had a credit application turned down in the past month either.

Remember, if you take out a joint loan with someone, your credit files will be linked. You would both be jointly responsible for paying back the loan, and any missed payments will affect both of your credit scores.

Bad credit loans

You will not be able to get a loan from Lloyds Bank if you have poor or bad credit. Lloyds says that applicants for its personal loan must have a good credit score and have not been the subject of any County Court Judgments (CCJs) or bankruptcy. 

There are other lenders that offer loans designed specifically for people with bad credit. Alternatively, you might want to try to improve your credit score

Do not apply for loans unless you are confident of being successful, declined loan applications will have a negative impact on your credit profile.

» MORE: Getting a loan with bad credit

Lloyds Bank eligibility criteria

To be eligible to apply for a personal loan from Lloyds Bank, you must: 

Lloyds says that it’s more likely you’ll be approved for a personal loan if you’re permanently employed full-time and have a steady income. Unfortunately, Lloyds Bank doesn’t offer personal loans to full-time students.

Having a good credit rating can also improve your chances of approval and potentially open the path to better rates.  Although the bank stops short of specifying a minimum credit score number for applicants, it is clear you will not be able to get a loan with Lloyds Bank if you have a history of bad credit, or been the subject of CCJs or bankruptcy in the past.

If you’re looking to get a personalised quote for a Lloyds Bank personal loan, the good news is that this can be done without affecting your credit score. It is only when you formally apply for a loan that the bank will run a hard credit check, which could affect your credit score.

You could also consider using a loans eligibility service to conduct a soft search across multiple lenders and provide you with results of your likelihood of a successful application against several different loans, without affecting your credit score. But do check the details of the service you use, to make sure it only uses soft searches and how many lenders it checks.

» MORE: Am I eligible to get a personal loan? 

Lloyds Bank loan features reviews

Making payments

When managing repayments, a Lloyds Bank personal loan comes with considerable flexibility to borrowers. 

You can choose the day of the month that your direct debit payment will be taken when you first take out the loan, something which not all lenders allow. You can also change your payment date twice in a 12-month period if a different repayment date would better suit your circumstances however, there could be an impact to the interest charged, either more or less depending on the change, so make sure you check. 

Another flexible feature that not all lenders offer is the ability to request up to two repayment holidays each year. If you take advantage of this option, you won’t need to make a repayment for that month. Remember though, interest will still be charged and the loan will cost you more as the borrowing term is extended to accommodate the missed payments.  

Making overpayments

It is possible to make overpayments on a Lloyds personal loan, and you can do this without being charged a penalty as long as you’re not paying off your loan in full. The advantage of this is that it may reduce the interest you pay overall and could shorten the term of your loan. There is likely to be limits on the amount you can overpay. 

There are a variety of ways that these extra payments can be made, including over the phone, in a branch, or through Lloyds internet banking, if you’re registered online, so borrowers should be able to find an option that suits them.

Paying off a loan early

If you want to clear your loan early, you are allowed to pay off your Lloyds Bank before the loan term ends. The important thing to note is that you may be charged up to 58 days’ interest for doing so. To find out how much you need to repay, you can contact Lloyds Bank for an early settlement quote, which will be valid for 30 days.

There are several ways the loan can be paid off early, including at a branch, by post or through the Lloyds internet banking account. 

Additional borrowing

If you already have a Lloyds Bank loan, you can apply to borrow more if the loan you have is solely in your name and your financial circumstances allow it. This means that, unfortunately, you can’t borrow more on a joint loan.

Additional loans of between £1,000 to £50,000 can be taken on top of any existing borrowing, but you can’t borrow more than £50,000 in total. 

There are two ways to borrow more: replacing your current loan with a new one means you’ll have a single repayment to make, or alternatively you can apply for an additional separate loan, which may be worth considering if your original loan has a lower rate. Check both options to see which is better for you.  

Customer support

As you might expect with one of the biggest UK banks, there are plenty of ways to access customer support at Lloyds. 

One option that many personal loan providers don’t offer but which Lloyds Bank certainly does is face-to-face support in branches. Dedicated phone support is available at certain times of the day too. 

At the same time, if you’re comfortable with technology, you can manage your loan online with a mobile app, or can sign up to Lloyds internet banking. 

Customer ratings

Customer reviews for Lloyds Bank are mixed depending on the review site you look at. 

On Trustpilot, a rating of 1.6 out of five across more than 3,500 reviews is disappointing but this is for Lloyds Bank as a whole, and not just its personal loan offering.The other major banks record similarly low ratings too.       

On the other hand, the latest ratings from Fairer Finance award Lloyds Bank a good score of 65% for its customer experience, placing it joint fourth in the rankings overall. 

This information was correct as of 20 April 2023.

How can I apply for a Lloyds Bank personal loan?

The major consideration here is that you need to hold a current account with Lloyds Bank if you want to apply. Assuming you do, and you’ve signed up for online banking, you can simply log on to get an instant personalised quote. 

You’ll need to share how much you want to borrow and the term over which you would like to repay to find out how much a personal loan could cost you and the likelihood of being approved, without affecting your credit score.

If you are happy with what you see and choose to move forward with a loan after receiving this quote, you can apply online. You should receive an instant decision.

If you prefer the reassurance of speaking to someone in person, it is also possible to apply in a branch or over the phone.

What information do I need?

As you must already be a Lloyds Bank current account holder to apply for a personal loan from the bank, you may not need to provide as much information as if you were applying to a different lender.

However, if you know if you haven’t provided details of your income, employment status and any debt you might have to Lloyds before, it’s probably best to have these to hand.

» MORE: How to get a personal loan

How long does it take to apply?

An instant online loan decision and a quick turnaround on funds makes Lloyds Bank a good option to consider if you need a loan fast.  If you apply and get approval for a loan between 9am and 8:30pm, the promise is that you will receive the funds in your account straight away. 

If your application is approved outside these times, you can expect your money to reach your account by 9am the next working day.

Frequently asked questions

What credit score do I need to get a Lloyds Bank loan?

Lloyds suggests you need a good credit score to apply for one of its personal loans, though other factors such as your income and employment are also taken into account when reaching an approval decision. If you have bad credit, it’s likely to prove difficult to get a personal loan with Lloyds Bank.    

How long does it take Lloyds Bank to approve a loan?

Lloyds can make a decision about your loan application instantly if you provide all the information it requires. It’s also possible to receive the funds into your bank account the same day, depending on when you apply and get approval.

Is Lloyds Bank trustworthy?

Lloyds Bank is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which is responsible for regulating financial service firms in the UK, and is authorised and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

Lloyds also offers loans in line with the Standards of Lending Practice set by the Lending Standards Board.

Review methodology

At NerdWallet Ltd UK we base our reviews on the results of surveys we conduct to understand what key product features are important to those who use them, and align them to the product we review.

Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible but it is likely there are others available that we have not reviewed. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability of your financial circumstances.

You can view our review methodology here.

About the Author

Tim Leonard

Tim is a writer and spokesperson at NerdWallet who has over 20 years’ experience writing about almost all aspects of personal finance. During his career at Moneyfacts, Virgin Money and…

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