Lloyds boss issues apology for negative publicity

“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.