July 25 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

LLOYDS TO PAY UP TO 300 MLN STG LIBOR FINES

(http://on.ft.com/1pN2jBo)

CARILLION IN MERGER TALKS WITH BALFOUR BEATTY

(http://on.ft.com/UwdnZT)

BARCLAYS LAUNCHES DEFENCE AGAINST "DARK POOL" FRAUD ALLEGATIONS

(http://on.ft.com/WGu8nd)

ECB HACKED IN ATTEMPT TO EXTORT CASH

(http://on.ft.com/1ojYRjQ)

LANCASHIRE FOUNDER LEAVES WITH 80 MLN STG

(http://on.ft.com/1rApwKd)

Overview

Lloyds Banking Group Plc is expected to announce early next week that the British bank would pay between 200 million pounds and 300 million pounds ($509.52 million) to settle benchmark interest rate (LIBOR) fixing allegations.

Balfour Beatty and Carillion Plc, two of Britain's biggest construction companies, are in merger talks to create a 3 billion pound construction giant.

Barclays Plc urged the dismissal of a lawsuit from the New York attorney general alleging the bank lied to clients about its high-speed trading venue.

The European Central Bank said on Thursday its website had been hacked and about 20,000 email addresses and other contact information stolen but insisted no market-sensitive data was compromised.

British insurer Lancashire Holdings' founder Richard Brindle, who stepped down from the company earlier in the year, has left with a third of shareholders' return on equity with his package of cash and warrants.

(Compiled by Aashika Jain in Bangalore; Editing by Eric Walsh)