The group, still 24.9% taxpayer-owned, completed £19.8bn in mortgage loans between January and June. This figure is a 44% increase on the same period in 2013.

Some £5.7bn of new mortgage lending went to first-time buyers with almost 44,000 customers given the keys to their first home by the bank. Lloyds said one-in-four first-time buyers in the country take out their mortgage with one of its brands.

In the first half of the year, Lloyds lent £892m through the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme. This took its total lending since the scheme’s launch in October 2013 to £969m. Lloyds said it has been the biggest participant in the scheme.

Mortgage director Stephen Noakes said: “Increasing our mortgage lending by 44% on a year earlier demonstrates a strong housing market, which is supported by first-time buyers.

“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.”

Across the whole business pre-tax profits dropped by 60% to £863m as the group was forced to set aside an additional £600m for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling claims.