Lloyds boss issues apology for negative publicity

Lloyds Bank's chief issued a statement to his 75,000 employees reassuring them of his commitment to the firm after allegations over his private life surfaced earlier this month following a business trip to Singapore, according to a report by Sky News.

“I deeply regret being the cause of so much adverse publicity and the damage that has been done to the Group's reputation,” said Horta-Osorio.

He reassured his staff of his commitment to the lender despite the negative publicity for the lender due to the allegations.

"Please be assured that I am as committed as ever to leading the Group forward to deliver our strategy and to meet our future ambitions."

Antonio Horta-Osorio, a married father of three, was photographed with the Director General of the Russell group of UK universities, Dr. Wendy Piatt, during his business trip to Singapore a fortnight ago.

In his memo, the banker said his expenses had been reviewed by the group and confirmed to have been "fully compliant".

"As you'd expect, I pay for my personal expenses whilst away and only reclaim what is a business expense" Horta-Osorio added.

Along with his apology, he defended his performance at the bank so far, highlighting how £16bn had been returned to the British taxpayers through profitable share sales since 2013. The group also emphasised that it had more than double its statutory profits at the half-year stage to reach £2.5bn.

The bank announced last month that it would cut 3000 more jobs and close 200 branches as part of its cost-cutting strategy, with the total number of jobs cut since October 2014 on track to hit 12,000 by the end of next year.

Shares were up 2.76% at 59.18p on Wednesday at 13:17 BST.