Horta-Osorio to leave Lloyds as Budenberg appointed chairman
By Sean Farrell
Date: Monday 06 Jul 2020
(Sharecast News) - Lloyds Banking Group said Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio planned to leave the bank in a year's time as it announced that Robin Budenberg would take over as chairman in early 2021.
Britain's biggest retail bank said Horta-Osorio planned to retire at the end of June 2021 after 10 years in which he revived Lloyds' fortunes after the financial crisis. Lloyds said his departure would allow a new CEO to take the helm under Budenberg's chairmanship.
Horta-Osorio joined Lloyds from Santander in 2011 after running the Spanish bank's UK operation. In his time as Lloyds' CEO he cut thousands of jobs, returned the bank to profitability after the financial crash and put it in the position for the government to sell its post-bailout stake, returning to full private-sector ownership in 2017.
His time at Lloyds has been eventful and gruelling. After a few months in the job he was forced to take extended sick leave because of exhaustion and has described how overhauling Lloyds "almost shattered" him. Horta-Osorio had to apologise to his staff in 2016 after a liaison with a female companion breached a code of company standards he had introduced.
He broke ranks with other UK banks by deciding to settle mounting claims for personal protection insurance (PPI), leaving Lloyds, the biggest seller of PPI under previous management, exposed to many billions of pounds of compensation costs. He has also faced sharp criticism for Lloyds' handling of claims made by small business owners against the bank.
"It is of course with mixed emotions that I announce my intention to step down as chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group by June next year," Horta-Osorio said. "I have been honoured to play my part in the transformation of large parts of our business. I know that when I leave the group next year, it has the strategic, operational and management strength to build further on its leading market position".
Horta-Osorio became one of Britain's best-paid CEOs and was often mentioned when jobs at other banks came up, including HSBC. In the end he stuck with Lloyds but at the age of 56 he may decide he wants another big job if it is worth the demands on his mental health.
Budenberg will join Lloyds' board on 1 October before taking over from Norman Blackwell, who has been chairman since 2014. As a senior investment banker at UBS Budenberg worked on the UK government's bank bailout in 2008 and then ran UK Financial Investments, which managed the government's stakes in banks after the financial crisis.
In 2014 he became UK chairman of Centerview Partners, a US advisory firm. He will step down from that job before taking over as Lloyds' chairman but will remain chairman of the Crown Estate.
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