Lloyds boss concedes staff concern over use of banking data in pay talks

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group has acknowledged employee concerns after the lender used aggregated data from staff bank accounts during pay negotiations, telling workers the bank will review its approach ahead of future talks.

Charlie Nunn said during a recent town hall meeting with staff that the episode "obviously has created some concern" and that management had "definitely listened", according to remarks first reported by The Times. The FTSE 100 lender faced criticism in November when it emerged it had analysed the spending habits, savings rates and salary increases of its lowest-paid workers who banked with Lloyds, comparing them against the wider public to support its negotiating position.

The bank used what it described as "aggregated, anonymised data" from roughly 30,000 employee accounts in presentations to union representatives. Lloyds encourages its 64,000 staff to hold personal accounts with the group, in some cases as a condition of employment, giving it access to workers' financial information.

Nunn defended the approach as "a legal use case of using aggregated data for a relevant business outcome", noting the bank's two recognised unions were "very comfortable" with it. However, he added that the bank had not "yet fully worked out what we will do differently going forward" and would complete its review before next year's pay talks. A Lloyds spokesperson clarified there would be no formal investigation, but that bosses would reflect on the tactics internally.

The Information Commissioner's Office made inquiries with Lloyds over potential data privacy breaches, though no formal probe was launched. Mark Brown, general secretary of Affinity, a union representing Lloyds employees but not recognised by the bank, criticised the move as "sinister" and said the lender had "no legitimate reason" to access staff accounts.

The pay negotiations resulted in junior colleagues receiving increases of between 7 per cent and 9 per cent, with minimum salaries rising to £27,400 by 2027. Accord, one of the recognised unions, initially described the data analysis as "really helpful", though it later reserved the right to pursue legal action if the ICO found data rules had been breached.

Nunn, who received £7.4 million in pay for 2025, told staff the bank recognised their concerns. The episode has raised questions about the boundaries of employer data use, particularly when workers are encouraged to become customers of their own institution.



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