Lloyds Banking Group has kicked off a review of its customer-pay panel, with City banking teams having been invited to pitch in the last week.

Firms have been given until 19 March to tender for spots on the roster, with the bank set to announce the new line-up on 7 April, the same day the panel comes into effect.

One banking partner said the review had suffered significant delays, with Lloyds having initially told advisers it would begin a year ago.

Customer-pay work covers advice on transactions involving the bank's corporate and business customers, where the its legal fees are passed onto the client.

As such, a spot on the customer-pay panel can represent an important source of client introductions for firms, as well as significant revenue stream for banking and corporate teams.

"The terms of instruction aren't that different to own-account work," commented one banking partner. "Obviously the bank will look to use its purchasing power on behalf of its clients, and this means setting rates which are comparable to work carried out exclusively for the bank."

Legal Week understands that a number of City firms on Lloyds' own-account panel have been asked to pitch for the roster, which is being overseen by group general counsel Andrew Whittaker and deputy Kate Cheetham.

The own-account panel, which saw spots awarded to Linklaters and Berwin Leighton Paisner, was finalised in November 2012 for a minimum two year term.

A Lloyds spokesperson declined to comment on the review process.