Lloyds may offload Scottish Widows life business

Reports suggest Widows owner Lloyds is keen to make a £6bn move for Dresdner, which has been put on the market by Allianz. One option said to be under discussion would see Lloyds taking on Dresdner's retail business, in exchange for the Widows life business. Lloyds is one of the few financial institutions to emerge from the credit crisis relatively unscathed so far, avoiding the hardship seen by British rivals RBS and Barclays. The German market has been hit hard by the crunch, and Lloyds is keen to pounce upon the declining bank valuations and increase its customer business in the large...