The banking giant said the firm would deliver strong financial returns and increase its share of the credit cards market from 15% to 26%. MBNA, which has more than five million card holders and assets of around £7 billion, booked post-tax profits of £123 million in first half of 2016. The tie-up is set to be complete in the first half of next year, if it wins the backing of regulators. Antonio Horta-Osorio, group chief executive of Lloyds, said MBNA was a "good fit" with the bank's current credit card business. "The acquisition, funded through strong internal capital generation, increases our participation in the expanding UK credit card market with a multi-brand strategy and advances our strategic aim to deliver sustainable growth as a UK focused retail and commercial bank," he added. The deal will provide a £650 million-a-year boost to Lloyds' group revenues, while delivering cost savings of around £100 million within two years.