Lloyds investigating after using staff’s bank account data in pay talks

CEO Charlie Nunn tells employees that issue ‘created some concern’ but insisted ‘we definitely have listened to it’

The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has told staff that it is investigating a controversial decision to use employee bank account data during pay talks with unions last year.

In a town hall meeting open to the bank’s 64,000 staff at the start of February, Charlie Nunn conceded that the move “obviously has created some concern” but tried to assure workers that “we definitely have listened to it”.

“We haven’t yet fully worked out what we will do differently going forward, although I think we should just do the investigation fully,” Nunn said, in comments first reported by the Times.

Nunn was responding to a staff question over the debacle, in which the bank used aggregated salary, spending and savings data from 30,000 staff accounts as part of a presentation to staff union representatives late last year. That data was used to suggest its lowest-paid staff had been in a better financial position than the wider population in recent years.

The banking group’s staff are strongly urged to hold their personal account with Lloyds, meaning the lender could access financial information without permission.

The Guardian revealed last month that the Information Commissioners’ Office has started making “inquiries” with Lloyds over whether it might have breached data privacy rules as a result. An ICO spokesperson said at the time: “We are aware of this incident and are making inquiries with Lloyds Banking Group.”

Lloyds, which had been locked in pay negotiations with staff unions, ultimately agreed to a two-year deal that would deliver a 7%-9% pay rise for staff.

Nunn told staff at the town hall meeting that it had been a “legal use case of using aggregated data for a relevant business outcome” and that the lender’s “two recognised unions were very comfortable” with its use. “But we clearly need to look at the lessons learned from that and you’ll see what that means going forward. So I recognise the feeling.”

However, one of the recognised unions, Accord, said in a member newsletter in December that it reserved the right to sue the banking group if the ICO found it had breached data rules.

A spokesperson for Lloyds – which owns the Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands – said Nunn’s comments did not mean there would be a “formal investigation” by the bank but there would be further review of the matter internally.

In a statement, Lloyds said it was “committed to fair and progressive pay that provides certainty and support for all colleagues, and in this case more junior colleagues.

“We have worked hard with our unions, using aggregated data and direct colleague input and we are pleased that members of our recognised unions have voted to support our competitive multi-year pay proposal for 2026 and 2027 by a significant majority.”