Lloyds Banking Group reported its first quarter profit rose 33 per cent, beating analysts’ forecasts, as increased lending income offset a 151 million pound ($204 million) charge it took to reflect a deterioration in the economic outlook due to the Iran conflict, reports Reuters.

Lloyds said the war in the Middle East could hurt Britain’s economy as well as global growth, and trigger a rise in the unemployment rate, causing the lender to downgrade some of the scenarios that it uses to calculate future potential losses.