Lloyds bank names new chairman
With Lloyds Bank chairman Victor Blank set to retire in the short term, the UK government has today announced the appointment of Win Bischoff as his replacement. Bischoff comes from a credible financial background having been a former chairman of Citigroup Inc although worryingly for some parties in the UK, he has also served as an adviser to the UK government. So who has actually made this particular appointment?
While there is no doubt that the UK government has publicly employed an arms-length strategy with regards to its 43% shareholding in Lloyds bank, the appointment of Bischoff has all the hallmarks of government intervention. This is someone with a background in the UK financial sector and a person who is very sympathetic to the causes of the UK government. It is also interesting to see that the new chairman will receive a £700,000 a year remuneration package although he will not be eligible to participate in the banks bonus plan.
There is no doubt that Victor Blank was pushed out of his position at Lloyds bank, even though he again was very sympathetic to the UK government when they came calling about the merger with HBOS, and the authorities have managed to shoehorn their own man. Slowly but surely there appears to be a behind-the-scenes increase in the UK governments influence over the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds bank.
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