Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio set to ‘promise commitment to bank’ following extra-marital affair claims

Mr Horta-Osorio has remained silent amid claims he had a relationship with the Director General of the Russell Group of universities

António Horta Osorio, Group Chief Executive (CEO) of Lloyds Banking Group (Getty)

The chief executive of Lloyd’s Banking Group is expected to apologise on Wednesday after allegations about his private life led to doubts about his commitment to the high street bank.

Antonio Horta-Osorio will reportedly release a memo to the bank’s employees voicing “deep regret” over any damage to the bank's reputation, following claims the CEO had an extra-marital affair, according to Sky News.

Mr Horta-Osorio has remained silent amid claims he had a relationship with Wendy Piatt, the Director General of the Russell Group of universities, which surfaced a fortnight ago.

The memo will allegedly confirm his resolve to direct Lloyds through uncertainty in the British banking sector following the vote to leave the European Union, as well as his commitment to deliver an efficiency drive announced in 2014, which is aimed at bolstering the bank's recovery from a taxpayer bailout in 2008.

The memo is likely to reassure Lloyd’s shareholders that Mr Horta-Osorio is not thinking about stepping down after the claims about his private life prompted many to speculate he may resign.

Last month, Lloyds announced it would be cutting 3,000 jobs and closing 200 branches despite doubling its pre-tax profits.

A statement from the group announced it had enjoyed a £2.5bn profit in the six months to the end of June, compared to £1.2bn in the previous half year.

The total number of jobs cut since the announcement of broader cost cuts in October 2014 will stand at 12,000 by the end of next year.

The latest 200 branch closures come on top of another 200 already earmarked for closure at Lloyds.

The decision was part of plan to pare about 9,000 roles by 2017, the London-based bank said in a statement at the time. The losses were in divisions such as consumer operations, risk management and finance.

The government still owns a 9.2 per cent of the lender after spending £20.5 billion ($29 billion) rescuing it during the financial crisis.

Lloyds have declined to comment on the reports.