The Financial Times reports today that Lloyds Banking Group is planning to become a large private landlord.

The FT reports that ‘Project Generation’, as the plan is being called in-house, will see the group buying and renting out stock across the UK. It aims to house its first tenants at the end of 2021.

The FT adds that internal documents seen by the paper say the group is looking for new sources of revenue as interest rates remain low.

Lloyds tells the paper: “We are committed to broadening access to home ownership and exploring opportunities to increase our support to the UK rental sector.”

Meanwhile, the union for Lloyds employees, BTU, sounds caution. It says: “The private rental market is such a risky business and if things go wrong the bank’s reputation could take a hammering.”