Shares in British banks were up on the FTSE 100 in morning trading after Lloyds Banking Group gave an update on its business review.

Lloyds Banking Group said it would be cutting 15,000 jobs in a bid to cut costs, adding that it hoped to invest in new IT systems and to cut its loan-to-deposit ratio to 130 per cent.

The news appeared to give a strong boost to Lloyds shares, which together with other banking shares have rallied this week as Greece appeared to be ready to embark on the austerity measures needed for it to qualify for bailout payments.

Yesterday the Greek Parliament voted in favour of austerity measures, despite large, sometimes violent protests, outside Parliament. Today the Greek Parliament will hold further technical votes on austerity measures.

By 09:50 shares in Lloyds Banking Group were up 9.32 per cent to 48.82 pence per share, RBS shares rose 4.11 per cent to 38.27 pence per share, Barclays shares increased 0.88 per cent to 251.45 pence per share and HSBC shares climbed 0.69 per cent to 616.60 pence per share.

Overall the FTSE 100 was up 0.64 per cent to 5,893.62.

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