Lloyds Banking Group has pledged to lend more than £10bn to first-time buyers in the coming 12 months

The group, which operates the Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands, said it would provide one-in-three mortgages on affordable housing schemes, including shared ownership and shared equity.

It will also continue to support the government’s Help to Buy scheme and the Local Lend a Hand programme in partnership with local authorities. This will mean the group funds a third of all lending on new build properties in the UK.

Last year Lloyds pledged to complete 60,000 loans to first-time buyers, a figure which it passed in October.

Stephen Noakes, mortgage director at Lloyds Banking Group, said:

“This is the third consecutive year that we’ve undertaken a huge commitment to helping first-time buyers and each year we are aiming to make the mortgage market more accessible for more people.

“Across our brands, we have demonstrated our firm commitment to first-time buyers with our involvement in initiatives such as Help to Buy and the Local Lend a Hand Scheme. We are now seeing increased confidence in the housing market, and this is underpinned by more people getting on the first rung of the property ladder.”

Lloyds has also announced it is to set aside a further £1.8bn for claims against the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). This brings the group’s total provision to almost £10bn.