Lloyds faces AGM revolt on chief’s pay

LLOYDS is scrambling to quell an embarrassing shareholder revolt over pension payouts given to boss Antonio Horta-Osorio.

Investment groups have been urging shareholders to oppose the chief executive’s pay package in a vote on Thursday during the bank’s annual general meeting.

Earlier this year it emerged that Horta-Osorio, 55, was the only Lloyds employee left on a lucrative final salary pension scheme, which he gave up after mounting pressure over the perk.

He had also been receiving pension top-ups worth 46pc of his salary, which the bank then reduced to 33pc in a bid to defuse the row.

However the Investment Association opposes contributions of 25pc or more and has flagged the violation to shareholders. While Mark Brown of union Affinity said Horta- Osorio’s payouts still dwarfed the maximum pension allowance of 13pc of salary that most staff were entitled to.

Ahead of the AGM, Lloyds has taken the unusual step of using an internal video to urge employees with shares to back the pay report.

Frank Field MP, chairman of the influential Commons work and pensions committee, has also called on investors to ‘use their votes’ to oppose the package.