The Times: Why do bank profits come so easy?

If the Lloyds share price doubles over the next two years — which some brokers are expecting — the Treasury could make a profit of £50 billion, enough to cut the predicted Budget deficit in 2012 by almost half.
The most striking aspect of Lloyds’ return to profit was that the bank reported an increase in margins — effectively the difference between the rates it pays to savers and charges to lenders. Lloyds also took the unusual step of predicting that it would remain in profit for the rest of the year, suggesting that margins are unlikely to worsen over the next 12 months.