Lloyds Banking Group says it is ahead of schedule in meeting its first time buyer commitments for 2014.

Six months ago the group pledged to support 80,000 first time buyers this year, by committing to lend £10 billion to help them purchase their first home.

In the first six months of 2014, Lloyds Banking Group advanced over £5.7bn of new mortgage lending to almost 44,000 first time buyers. This is 55% and 36%, respectively, ahead of the Group’s performance in the same period in 2013.

The Group’s total gross new residential mortgage lending was £19.8bn in the first six months of 2014, a 44% increase on £13.7bn from the same period a year earlier.

In addition, Lloyds Banking Group lent one in four of all new loans to UK first time buyers who completed in the first five months of 2014 and expect to do so in 2014 as a whole.

Stephen Noakes, mortgage director at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We have made great progress in the first half of the year towards meeting our first time buyer commitments which is a key metric within our Helping Britain Prosper Plan.

“Increasing our mortgage lending by 44% on a year earlier demonstrates a strong housing market, which is supported by first time buyers. We lent one in four of all new loans to UK first time buyers, which has allowed us to help 44,000 people take the first step on the housing ladder so far this year.

“Lloyds Banking Group is committed to helping Britain prosper and the progress we are reporting upon today underscores our efforts to support the UK mortgage market.”