British retail and commercial bank Lloyds Bank Chief Executive António Horta-Osório recently said that he would step down next year after a decade at the helm. His decision to leave the office has left Britain’s biggest domestic bank to find a successor to steer it through the coronavirus fallout.
According to a Reuters report, while his departure had been expected, it comes at a critical time as banks brace for a wave of bad debts as customers struggle in an economy heading into a deep recession.
Analysts say that the new CEO will have to push Lloyds further into wealth management and online services while finding a way to increase profits in an era of almost zero interest rates.
During his tenure at the bank, the Portuguese banker oversaw a massive overhaul and returned the bank to private ownership after a £20.3bn crisis-era bailout. He is also credited with stabilising the UK’s third-biggest bank by assets in the wake of the 2008 crisis, during which the government became its largest shareholder.
Analysts are also speculating that his departure could lead to some musical chairs at top banks with analysts speculating about both where Horta-Osório might go next and who will replace him at Lloyds.
A Lloyds spokesman said a search for a successor that would include both internal and external candidates would begin imminently, adding that Horta-Osório, 56, had given the company no indication of what he planned to do next.
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