Horta-Osorio 'bushy-tailed' about return to Lloyds post

In a major surprise to the City, Antonio Horta-Osorio is to return to work as chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group six weeks after he stood aside on medical advice, suffering extreme fatigue and sleep deprivation.

Sir Win Bischoff, the chairman of the 41 per cent taxpayer-owned Lloyds, said Mr Horta-Osorio was "bushy-tailed" and had a "big smile" at the prospect of returning to work.

The bank also said Co-operative Group, which owns the Co-op Bank and Smile, had won the £1.5bn auction for the 632 Lloyds and Cheltenham & Gloucester branches it had been ordered to sell by European regulators.

The decision to allow Mr Horta-Osorio to return, made at a board meeting yesterday, came as a shock to many in the City. It had been thought by many that his standing had been so severely damaged that he might never return.

Sir Win said: "This was a unanimous decision and he returns with the full confidence of the board. All of us believe he continues to be the best man for the job as he was when we appointed him last year.

"Of course, if he had said 'on the one hand this, and on the other hand that', it would have coloured our view of what to do ... he was very keen to come back. He does not want this to happen again. He was as surprised as we were that it happened. I don't for a moment believe that this will happen again but now we will be more aware of the incipient signs that this is getting close."

Mr Horta-Osorio has agreed – at his own initiative, according to Lloyds – "to restructure and reduce his direct reporting lines in order to strengthen the accountabilities of his senior management team. This is designed to provide the most appropriate environment to maximise the senior management's contribution as the group enters the next stage of its transformation".

Lloyds said its board has "completed a rigorous process, including obtaining independent medical advice, to assess Antonio's ability to return and effectively lead the group".

It said he would return to work on 9 January.