The Lloyds Banking Group, which owns the country’s two biggest lease companies – Lex and Lloyds TSB Autolease (LTSBA) – has plunged £4bn into the red.

The Group published its interim results this morning for the half-year ended 30 June 2009.

The Group acquired HBOS, the then owner of the country’s biggest lease company Lex, on 16 January 2009.

This effectively created a lease giant with the new banking group managing some 370,000 vehicles.

The lease operations are accounted by the bank under its Asset Finance operations, which consists of a number of leasing and speciality lending businesses including the Lex Autolease contract hire businesses, specialist assets and consumer finance (motor finance and personal finance).

The Asset Finance division made a loss of £250m in the first half of the year compared to a £42m profit during the first half of 2008 – a 285% drop.

Since the acquisition, the group has been combining the two lease operations under the name Lex Autolease.

This process is still ongoing. “The Asset Finance business consolidation and realignment continues,” said the interim statement.

“Plans are well advanced to bring together the market leading Lex and Autolease contract hire businesses.”

However, rumours have continued to persist that one or both of the lease companies could be sold off as the bank concentrates on its core operations.

Today’s results will add fuel to those rumours.

The group’s chief executive, J Eric Daniels, was upbeat in the face of the losses: “Our first half loss was driven by the high levels of impairment. The core business delivered a resilient performance,” he said.

“While the environment will remain challenging, management expects the economy to stabilise in the second half and start recovering slowly in 2010.

"On this basis, management expects the performance of the group to improve from the second half, principally as a result of a reduction in the level of impairments.”