Lloyds Banking Group has become the biggest provider of loans for leveraged buy-outs (LBOs) of companies in Europe, according to data provider Dealogic.
Figures from the group show that the bank has provided some $832m (£546m) for six different European takeovers deals so far this year, 43 per cent more than its nearest rival Credit Agricole.
This years provision of loans has given Lloyds a near 15 per cent share of the LBO market in Europe, which is almost triple the share it had in 2007.
Lloyds boosted its presence in the market when it acquired HBOS at the start of last year. HBOS held the largest share of the UK's LBO market in three of the previous four years.
A spokesman for the bank said: "We remain the number one lender to the UK mid-market. Buy-out loans are part of our lending activities in the corporate market, particularly in the mid-market sector."
Lloyds lent a total of £38bn to UK businesses in 2009, £10.9bn of which was to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
However, both Lloyds and RBS failed to meet their corporate lending targets for the year to March. They argued that this was due to a lack of demand from businesses rather than poor availability of credit on their behalf.




