London Stock Exchange Group: Three New Retail Bond Listings In Two Weeks - Lloyds TSB Lists 5.50% Corporate Bond - EIB Admits 3.25% Supranational Bond - Provident Financial 7.50% Corporate Bond Available For ‘When-Issued-Dealing'

London Stock Exchange Group today welcomes the listing of a new bond to its Order book for Retail Bonds (ORB), the third such product to be launched on the platform in the last two weeks. The bond, issued by Lloyds TSB is also the fifth to be launched specifically for ORB so far this year. These bonds include:

Issuer	Coupon	Maturity	Trading Denomination	Tradable on ORB from
Lloyds TSB	5.50%	25/09/2016	£100¹	25/03/2011
Provident Financial	7.50%	30/09/2016	£100	25/03/2011²
European Investment Bank	3.25%	07/12/2016	£100	11/03/2011
Tesco Bank plc	5.20%	24/08/2018	£100³	21/02/2011
Royal Bank of Scotland plc	3.30%⁴	01/02/2018	£100	17/01/2011
1. £1,000 minimum investment 2. Unconditional dealing from 31/03/2011 3. £2,000 minimum investment 4. Increases incrementally each year to a maximum of 8.55% in the final year

Pietro Poletto, Head of Fixed Income at London Stock Exchange Group, said:

"The launch of these new products demonstrates that bond issuers are increasingly looking to use our fast-growing ORB market to access the private investor audience. As ORB continues to establish itself as an attractive venue for the listing of debt, we look forward to welcoming a greater number of bonds from an increasingly diverse range of issuers, and to encouraging private investor participation in the debt market."

Peter Green, Assistant Director, Senior Issuance at Lloyds Banking Group, said:

"We are delighted with the high level of interest in our latest retail bond. The strong demand we have seen indicates that private investors are beginning to realise the alternative investment options available to them. The ORB plays an incredibly important role in making corporate bonds more accessible to private investors and we are pleased to support the London Stock Exchange in the development of this market."

Andrew Fisher, Finance Director at Provident Financial plc, said:

"As one of the very first issuers of a retail bond listed on the ORB platform last April, we are delighted with the significant demand for our second bond, totalling £50 million. This adds to the group's programme of diversifying and lengthening the duration of its funding. Most importantly, the breadth of support from brokers and retail customers has confirmed my belief that this market will be an important ongoing source of funding for Provident Financial."

Richard Teichmeister, Head of Sterling Funding at the European Investment Bank (EIB), said:

"EIB welcomes the LSE's initiative to facilitate retail investors' access to debt products. Having established a sterling retail dealer group already in 2001, EIB's presence on the ORB platform is another step to increase our presence in the sterling retail market. The platform creates market transparency for retail accounts otherwise only available to institutional investors."

The ORB was launched in February 2010 in response to strong private investor demand for greater access to fixed income. There are currently 146 corporate, government and supranational bonds available for trading on the platform, which are tradable in typical denominations of £1,000 or less. All are exempt from stamp duty and those maturing in five years or more are eligible for inclusion in ISAs and SIPPs. Full prospectus details and final terms for each security are available on the London Stock Exchange's website.