The boss of Lloyds Banking Group is set to return from his stress-related sick leave in January, albeit with reduced management responsibilities, the bank has revealed.
Antonio Horta-Osorio, who joined the organisation in March to restructure it, has been absent from work since the end of October when he was signed off by doctors for “extreme fatigue”, after reportedly suffering from insomnia and finding it hard to switch off. He left work the day before he and his counterparts in other large UK banks were due to attend a grilling by the Financial Services Bill Joint Committee.
But a statement issued by Lloyds today indicated that changes would be introduced to reduce the burden on him. It said: "Following due consideration, the board has decided Horta-Osorio will return to the bank as group chief executive on 9 January, 2012. As part of the process, the board has agreed to an initiative from Antonio to restructure and reduce his direct reporting lines in order to strengthen the accountabilities of his senior management team."
The move was intended to provide the "most appropriate environment to maximise the senior management’s contribution as the group enters the next stage of its transformation", it added.
The decision was not unexpected, however, following reports earlier in the week that a key Lloyds’ stakeholder was understood to have told the bank’s board that it was happy for Horta-Osorio to return to his post.
