Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) (NYSE: LYG.US) announced today that it has appointed Will Samuel as chairman of TSB. Samuel is a career banker with previous stints on a host of corporate boards. He will join the TSB board immediately, Lloyds said.
TSB was formed after Lloyds was forced to sell off over 600 branches to comply with EU competition rules. The effectively standalone bank, which was launched in September 2013 and now operates as a separate division within the group, is expected to float through an initial public offering later this year.
TSB could be worth up to £1.5bn when it floats and the bank has discussed allowing small investors to take part in the IPO.
Lloyds chairman, Sir Winfried Bischoff, commented:
“This is a great appointment for Lloyds and for TSB. Will brings a wealth of experience to the role and is well-regarded by the market and across the financial services industry. He is a key hire and will be instrumental in building TSB’s independent future as a challenger to the other high street banks.”
Earlier this week Lloyds posted its 2013 final results and announced a profit of £415m — its first profit for three years — which has led the bank to begin talks with the UK government about a return to full private ownership.
The bank has simplified its business in recent years, creating a retail and commercial bank that is low-risk and efficient, with a focus on lending to UK households and businesses.
Lloyds has confirmed it intends to speak to the regulator in the second half of 2014 about restarting dividend payments. Analysts are predicting a dividend of 2p per share, which based on Lloyds present share price of 80p, would offer a potential income of 2.4%.
