Lloyds may reveal details of bankers' bonuses well ahead of Budget

The taxpayer-backed bank would do so in an attempt to head off any fat-cat row

Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio (PA)

Lloyds Banking Group is considering revealing details of its bankers' bonuses early - including chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio’s potential £11 million package.

The taxpayer-backed bank would do so well before the Budget in an attempt to head off any fat-cat row ahead of the General Election.

Barclays will publish its full annual report with pay details on the same day as its results for the first time on 3 March.

HSBC has done that for several years. Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 82 per cent owned by the taxpayer, is also understood to be considering bringing forward some pay details.

In the past, bank annual reports have come out up to a week to a fortnight after their annual results which could have seen them released just days before George’s Osborne’s Budget on 18 March.

Lloyds’ remuneration committee, headed by its senior non-executive director Tony Watson, will not finalise pay details for some days. But he has already had meetings with James Leigh-Pemberton, the head of UKFI which holds the taxpayer stake.

Horta-Osorio’s £7 million share-based bonus from his 2012 long-term incentive plan got the nod largely because it is part of his contract and reflects the near doubling of Lloyds’ share price in the last three years.

UKFI is said to be more interested in the size of Lloyds’ overall bonus pool which last year was £395 million. It is likely to be lower this time because there are fewer staff following TSB’s demerger and to reflect Lloyds’ £218 million fines over Libor rigging.

Lloyds is also finalising plans to pay its first dividend for six years. It has given the banking regulator, the PRA, its audited 2014 figures and details of its medium-term capital plans. Even a token 0.5p or 1p a share would boost the Treasury’s hopes of selling its remaining 25 per cent stake in the bank. Lloyds and RBS declined to comment.