The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a Lloyds Banking Group advertisement overstated the bank’s role in funding social housing, concluding that the national press campaign misled readers into thinking it had donated £19.5bn.
The full-page advertisement, which appeared in The Times in March, showed Lloyds’ black horse galloping past newly built homes. The strapline read: “£19.5 billion for social housing. And that’s just the start.”
Beneath, smaller print stated: “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. That’s why we’ve provided £19.5 billion to the social housing sector since 2018.” The image carried the bank’s familiar “Helping Britain Prosper” slogan.
A complaint was lodged with the watchdog arguing that the wording implied Lloyds had given the money as charitable support. The ASA agreed, finding that the presentation of the claim was ambiguous and likely to be taken as a donation rather than commercial lending.
In its defence, Lloyds said the advertisement formed part of a wider campaign promoting its commitment to sustainability and housing. It stressed that the intended audience was not the general public but policymakers, journalists and corporate stakeholders. The bank argued that The Times’ readership was highly educated, business-focused and unlikely to mistake a commercial bank for a philanthropic body.
Lloyds pointed to its 2024 annual report, which confirmed that it had channelled around £20bn into the social housing sector since 2018 through loans, investments and capital markets activity. It also highlighted that staff had raised more than £3m for the homelessness charity Crisis, but insisted the £19.5bn figure related to commercial finance. The wording “provided” had been chosen deliberately, it said, to reflect this.
The bank further argued that readers would recognise the implausibility of a private institution donating such a large sum, noting that the government had committed £39bn over ten years to its successor affordable homes programme. Against that backdrop, it said, the idea of Lloyds giving away £19.5bn would have been unrealistic.
REGULATOR UNCONVINCED
The regulator was not persuaded. It said the phrases “£19.5 billion for social housing” and “provided […] to the social housing sector” were unclear and, in the absence of explanation, would be taken to mean a financial gift. It also noted the framing of the claim alongside the message “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home” and “And that’s just the start”, which reinforced the impression of a charitable initiative.
The imagery and the “Helping Britain Prosper” strapline, the ASA said, further conveyed the idea of direct social impact. “Taken together, we considered readers were likely to interpret that to mean LBG had played a direct role in creating affordable housing and the funding had been provided on a non-commercial basis, for public benefit,” the ruling stated.
While acknowledging that some readers would know Lloyds operated as a bank and not a charity, the ASA said many consumers would not interrogate the exact figures and would reasonably assume that the money had been donated. The watchdog concluded that the advertisement omitted crucial context and created a misleading impression.
The ruling means the advertisement cannot appear again in its current form. Lloyds has been instructed not to imply that commercial lending is charitable support and to ensure future campaigns clarify the nature of any financial contributions.
