Asked to identify the high point of his career to date, António Horta-Osório pinpoints an afternoon in May 2017 when he got a call from a Treasury official saying: “António, we’ve sold the final shares”. After eight long years, Lloyds Bank was finally fully re-privatised. He called a staff conference and said: “‘We did it. We gave the taxpayers’ money back. And it’s a great tribute to you’. We made a toast. It was a really good moment.”
Sleepless in the City
Whatever else he accomplishes now that he is off to Credit Suisse, the suave Portuguese banker will always be remembered in Britain as the man who brought Lloyds back from the brink, says the Financial Times – famously at a cost to his own health. Horta-Osório faced a big job rebuilding the broken bank after the banking crisis, but the real test came within months of his 2011 appointment when the eurozone crisis threatened to freeze funding markets again. “I could see the bank might die,” said Horta-Osório – and it stopped him sleeping. “I took it really to heart as my responsibility to save it.” Diagnosed with stress-induced exhaustion, he was sent to the Priory clinic to recover.
Horta-Osório, 57, traces his sense of duty back to his early years in a Jesuit school in Lisbon. “I have been educated to help others, serve others. [It is] a moral obligation.” But he balances his high-mindedness with a “brute competitiveness” inherited from his father, a champion table-tennis player. Tennis has always loomed large in Horta-Osório’s life. A measure of his determination is that when he broke his wrist at 30 and was told he’d never play again, “he promptly taught himself to play left-handed”, says the London Evening Standard.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Horta-Osório enjoyed a professional education at INSEAD and Harvard Business School and took his first job at Citibank Portugal, says The Guardian, later joining Goldman Sachs. Arriving at Santander in 1993, he was rapidly promoted by the bank’s revered chair, Emilio Botín, running the Spanish bank’s Brazilian arm before being parachuted into the UK in 2006 to unite a series of building societies under the Santander banner.
In the years that followed, Horta-Osório “became a pillar of the British establishment as few foreign bankers have”, says the FT. Granted a plum role at the Bank of England, he’s a regular tennis player at that “sporting icon of the ruling class”, Queen’s Club in Kensington, and chair of the Wallace Collection of fine art. He’s even achieved the distinction of having his private life raked over by the tabloids. True, he didn’t endear himself to fellow bank bosses when he “broke ranks” over PPI mis-selling and compensation (thereby saddling Lloyds with a £22bn bill); and the bank he bequeaths is considered “dowdy” by some. But at least Britain’s largest high-street bank “looks safe and well-run”.
A new broom at Credit Suisse
No wonder the bankers of Zurich can’t wait to hire him, says The Times. After some of the most turbulent years in its history, Horta-Osório is set to become the first ever Credit Suisse chairman from outside the Swiss establishment. When appointed in December, the bank was reeling from an extraordinary row over a corporate spying scandal and allegations of racism. Since then, it’s been clobbered reputationally and financially by embroilment in the Greensill and Archegos scandals. Doubtless, Horta-Osório will “find a way to embed himself in Swiss society” as effectively as he has in Britain – and he insists he feels none of the dread that plagued him a decade ago. But according to an ex-Credit Suisser, he needs to brace himself. “This is like nothing he’s ever dealt with before. Lloyds was easy by contrast.”
-
Private school fees soar and VAT threat looms – what does it mean for you?Rising private school fees could see more than one in five parents pull their children out of their current school. Before you remortgage, move house or look to grandparents for help, here’s what you need to know.
-
Best and worst UK banks for online banking revealedWhen it comes to keeping your money safe, not all banks are equal. We reveal the best and worst banks for online banking when it comes to protecting your money from scams
-
Should your business invest in a VoIP phone service?Here's what you need to know about VOIP (voice over IP) services before landlines go digital in 2025.
-
The end of China’s boomLike the US, China too got fat on fake money. Now, China's doom is not far away.
-
The many frauds of Dozy Mmobuosi, failed Sheffield United ownerProfile Dozy Mmobuosi was a big-hitter with a fintech empire when he stepped in to rescue a failing Yorkshire football club. But he was not quite the saviour he seemed.
-
What is the future of Royal Mail in the UK?With fewer of us sending letters and parcels, the Royal Mail is finding dealing with the nation’s post is an increasingly unprofitable and costly business.
-
What's the secret of Manolo Blahnik's success?Fashion maestro Manolo Blahnik shows little sign of slowing down at 81, and his company notched up a record financial year in 2022. What is the secret of his success?
-
Michelle Mone's "tough year of pain"Michelle Mone liked to portray herself as a working-class heroine who worked her way to the top through grit and determination. But her pedestal is built on sand.
-
Trevor Milton, the Elon Musk wannabe, is jailed for fraudThe former CEO of Nikola, Trevor Milton, has been found guilty of lying about the development of the company's electric trucks.
-
Directors should think twice before waiving limited liabilityShould small-business directors ever provide a personal guarantee in return for bank finance?
