Eric Daniels, Lloyds’ chief executive officer, recently released a statement announcing his retirement from the position in 2011.
The newly announced vacancy follows hot on the heels of other changes in major bank leadership already announced this September, as both John Varley of Barclays will be resigning in 2011, to be replaced by Bob Diamond, and Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC, is taking a government trade minister post.
Both Mr Green and Mr Varley have positive reputations in the business bank account communities, as both have earned praise for keeping their hands steady at the helms of their respective banks throughout the credit crisis without having to resort to a taxpayer bailout.
In comparison Mr Daniels has not had such positive press; alongside Sir Victor Blank, former chairman of Lloyds, he faced serious critical remarks in regards to the controversy created by their bank’s takeover of HBOS two years ago.
In a statement remarking on Mr Daniels’ departure, Sir Win Bischoff, chairman for Lloyds, commented that both he and the entire executive board of the bank expressed gratitude for Mr Daniels’ seven year tenure as chief executive, especially after the HBOS purchase in the September of 2008.
Bischoff added that in addition to how successfully the two firms were integrated, Mr Daniels deserved praise for returning Lloyds to profitable footing in particularly tough economic times.
There were Lloyds shareholders, however, that have different opinions in regards to the company’s performance. One group of investors who call themselves Lloyds Action Now claim they were lured into approving the HBOS buyout without being provided any and all pertinent information regarding the finances of the smaller banking institution.
The shareholder group’s main concern is that the outstanding BoE loans that HBOS had, an approximate debt of £25.4 billion, were not disclosed to them prior to voting; the loans have since been repaid by Lloyds.
Currently, the banking group is 41 per cent nationalised.