£60m and out for bank chief
LLOYDS BOSS ADDS £3.4M TO EARNINGS
THE boss of banking giant Lloyds is walking away having netted nearly £60million in pay and perks.
Antonio Horta-Osorio, who will step down at the end of April, collected another £3.4million for last year, Lloyds’ annual report revealed yesterday.
The figure was down from the £4.4m he received in 2019. He also got £318,000 from other non-executive jobs. Since 2011, the Portuguese banker has had £59.5m in salary, bonuses and benefits.
Horta-Osorio, 57, will quit Lloyds to become chairman of Credit Suisse. He is being replaced by ex-HSBC banker Charlie Nunn, 49, who starts in August.
Lloyds also revealed it had set aside more than £4billion for loans that could turn sour due to the Covid-19 crisis. The figure covers lending to households and businesses it fears may not be repaid if the economy fails to recover.
The hefty ‘impairment charge’ fuelled a 72% slump in Lloyds’ annual profits to £1.2bn – but that beat pessimistic analyst expectations of around £900m. Horta-Osorio also set fresh targets to expand the lender’s insurance and wealth business, and cut costs. One aim is to slash its office space by a fifth by 2023. A staff survey found 77% wanted to continue working from home several days a week. Horta-Osorio said: “Significant uncertainties remain, specifically relating to the coronavirus pandemic and speed and efficacy of the vaccination programme.” Lloyds resumed dividends with an ordinary payout of 0.57p per share, the maximum allowed under guidelines.