Lloyds chairman Bischoff to retire

Sir Winfried Bischoff, chairman of Lloyds Banking Group after taking over during the financial crisis, is to retire from the group later this month.

He is expected to step down from the board no later than the shareholders meeting in May 2014, the exact date depending on the appointment of a successor, the group said today. Bischoff has been chairman of the bank since September 2009, when he replaced Sir Victor Blank, who was blamed for the troubled takeover of HBOS during the 2008 crisis. During his tenure he conducted a radical restructure of the bank, including the replacement of chief executive Eric Daniels with former Santander UK boss, António Horta-Osório. Profits at the bank have also seen an improvement since he joined...