Bank boss was at Euros ‘super-spreader’ final
SIR ANTÓNIO HORTA-OSÓRIO, the former Lloyds chief and Credit Suisse chairman, attended the “superspreader” European Championship football final last summer when he should have been in quarantine, it has emerged.
The banker stood down from the Swiss bank this week after an investigation found he broke quarantine regulations last summer when visiting London to watch the Wimbledon final.
It has now emerged that Sir António went from the tennis in Wimbledon to the football at Wembley on the same day. More than 5,000 people caught Covid at the Euros final and semi-finals last summer, with health officials saying the “super-spreader” events showed how quickly the virus could spread. Those close to Sir António said the football was a client event but a number of invited guests dropped out at short notice and so he took his children instead. One client still attended with his wife and her parents, sources said.
His attendance at the game, first reported by the Financial Times, has emerged days after he quit Credit Suisse just eight months after he vowed to stabilise the scandal-hit bank and overhaul its culture. Sir António is now splitting his time between Lisbon and London, sources said.
The bank investigated at least two separate Covid violations, including his July trip to Wimbledon, as well as his use of the company private jet when he was taken to the Maldives after a work event in Asia to see his family. An internal audit concluded no irregularities on his use of the company jet, sources said, as the plane had to stop to refuel.
Sir António, who restored Lloyds after the 2008 financial crisis, is understood to have pleaded his case last weekend. Insiders said the breaches meant he “lost moral authority” when he was trying to reform the lender’s culture. A spokesman for Sir António declined to comment.