Lloyds TSB says capital ratios "robust"

LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds TSB brushed off concerns it could follow its peers and tap shareholders for cash, saying on Tuesday it was comfortable with its capital position and had sufficient capital to meet organic growth aims.

Acting finance director Tim Tookey said Lloyds' core Tier 1 ratio stood at 7.4 percent at the end of 2007, at the higher end of the UK sector.

"We are comfortable our capital position is pretty robust," Tookey said on a conference call. "We are comfortable with the strategy we have in place, which is unaffected by what is going on in the market, and we have sufficient capital to deal with our current plans for organic growth."

Tookey, who forecast a "marked slowdown" but not a recession for the UK economy this year, said the group saw more merger and acquisition opportunities emerging in the sector, but added its position remained unchanged.

"Just because the shoe is cheap doesn't mean it will fit well," Tookey told reporters, quoting the bank's chief executive, Eric Daniels.

"There are probably more people looking to be at the other end of an opportunity, but that doesn't mean necessarily that we are looking at a longer list."

(Reporting by Steve Slater and Clara Ferreira-Marques)

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