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By Bloomberg

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain's largest mortgage provider, plans to eliminate thousands of jobs to lower costs, according to the Times, in what may be the biggest round of cuts since at least 2011.

The bank will shut further branches as part of efforts to automate its entire business, with job cuts expected in areas such as mortgage processing and new account opening, the Times newspaper reported today, without saying from where it obtained the information. Ed Petter, a spokesman for Lloyds in London, declined to comment.

Lloyds Chief Executive Officer Antonio Horta-Osorio has been seeking ways to bolster earnings to help return the lender to full private ownership. The bank has eliminated more than 37,000 jobs in the aftermath of its government bailout in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with some 15,000 cuts announced in 2011 as part of an effort to lower costs by 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion).

The shares were little changed at 77.42 pence at 8:44 a.m. in London. They have dropped 1.9 percent this year, giving the company a market value of about 55.3 billion pounds. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, which was also rescued by taxpayers during the financial crisis, has advanced 9 percent.

The so-called digital strategy is part of the bank's three- year plan, which will be presented with third-quarter results on Oct. 28, according to the Times.