British bank Lloyds picks new CEO

LONDON: Britain's Lloyds Banking Group on Monday announced that HSBC banker Charlie Nunn will become its new chief executive next year, replacing Antonio Horta-Osorio.

The Briton, who has worked at HSBC since 2011 and is currently global head of its wealth and retail banking division, will take the reins after Portuguese national Horta-Osorio steps down in June.

The precise timing of Nunn's arrival remains under discussion but his total pay package will be 20 percent lower than his predecessor, LBG added in a statement.

"I feel particularly lucky to be joining Lloyds Banking Group at this important time... I look forward to building on the work of Antonio and the team," Nunn said.

The appointment comes after the lender bounced back into the black in the third quarter, boosted by an encouraging recovery in business demand and lower impairments linked to coronavirus.

Profit after taxation hit £688 million ($894 million, 761 million euros) in the three months to September, after a net loss of £461 million in the second quarter on Covid-19 fallout.

LBG was rescued by the UK government following the 2008 global financial crisis, but returned to full private ownership three years ago.

The British government bailed out Lloyds at a cost of £20.3 billion, handing the state a 43-percent share. However, it steadily offloaded the stake as the bank recovered.

Britain still owns 62 percent of Natwest, formerly known as the Royal Bank of Scotland. RBS was rescued with £45.5 billion of taxpayers' cash during the financial crisis in the world's biggest bank bailout.