António Horta-Osório has informed the board of Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) of his intention to step down as chief executive in 2021.
He will have delivered three strategic plans and completed 10 years in the role next year.
Horta-Osório has agreed to time his stepping down as group CEO to support a smooth transition, with a target date at the end of June next year, at which point he will retire from Lloyds.
Until then he will continue to be focused with the executive team on delivering the remainder of the current strategic plan (GSR3), as well as the plans put in place to address the Covid-19 pandemic effects and support its customers.
In addition, following the announcement last year that Lord Blackwell intended to retire as chairman of Lloyds Banking Group over the coming year, the Group has announced that Robin Budenberg has been selected as his successor. Budenberg will join the Group board on October 1 2020 and take over as chair in early 2021 when Lord Blackwell steps down from the board.
Budenberg has had a long career with S.G. Warburg/UBS Investment Bank and in 2009 became chief executive, then chairman, of UK Financial Investments (UKFI) with responsibility for managing the UK government’s investment in UK banks, including Lloyds.
In 2014, he became London chairman of Centerview Partners, the US based independent advisory firm, and in 2016 he was appointed chairman of The Crown Estate, which has a diverse £14 billion portfolio with its profits remitted to the Treasury for the benefit of the public finances.
Before he assumes the role of chair of Lloyds Banking Group he will step down from his current roles at Centerview Partners and on the boards of Big Society Trust and Charity Bank, but will continue as chairman of The Crown Estate.
This planned leadership succession will allow a new chief executive to work with the new chair in the next stage of the Group’s development and transformation.
Lord Blackwell said: “I am delighted to welcome Robin Budenberg to the board as my successor. His knowledge of the Group combined with his broad experience in both financial services and other strategic advisory roles give him an outstanding background to provide the board leadership required to support the continued transformation of the Group.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution that António Horta-Osório has made to first turning round and then leading the strategic development of the Group over the last decade. His personal commitment and strong vision have driven a period of massive and successful change in the Group, restoring Lloyds to its preeminent position in Helping Britain Prosper as the UK’s leading retail and commercial bank.
“During his tenure, he has overseen a comprehensive transformation of the Group’s balance sheet, operations, and customer propositions, including the repayment of the UK government’s £21bn investment and evolution of the Group into the UK’s largest digital bank.
“His decision to announce now his planned retirement allows for an orderly succession process to appoint a new chief executive next year to work with the new chair.”
Horta-Osório added: “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. I am lucky to have had the support of a superb board and executive team on whom I will continue to rely as we complete our current strategic plan, transforming the Group into the bank of the future.
“Everyone at Lloyds has unified around our purpose of Helping Britain Prosper and our customers and communities are seeing our commitment to that now, more than ever.
“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.”