Former Conservative Party co-treasurer Lord Lupton is stepping down from the board of Lloyds Banking Group.
James Lupton, 68, will relinquish his role as non-executive director after the financial giant’s upcoming annual general meeting, following a seven-year stint on the board.
He will also leave Lloyds’ investment banking arm, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, having been its inaugural chairman since the division was formed to comply with new ‘ring-fencing’ regulations.
Leaving: Former Conservative Party co-treasurer Lord Lupton is stepping down as a non-executive director of Lloyds Banking Group
Lupton originally joined the board of Lloyds in 2017 following an extensive career in the banking sector, which included setting up the London office of Greenhill and a six-year stint as chairman of its European operations.
While at Greenhill, he helped advise the Co-op Bank during talks with bondholders after the high street firm uncovered a £1.5billion capital shortfall in its balance sheet.
Before that, he was a deputy chairman of Baring Brothers until the merchant bank’s dramatic collapse in 1995 due to fraudulent activities by the ‘rogue trader’ Nick Leeson.
The father-of-four, whose fortune was once estimated at £130million, was appointed co-treasurer of the Conservative Party in 2013 after donating significant sums to the party during the premiership of David Cameron.
Sir Robin Budenberg, chairman of Lloyds, said: ‘I would like to thank James for the valuable contribution he has made to the board since June 2017 and for his leadership as the inaugural chair of Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets and for his personal support for me since I became chair.’
Lupton’s departure comes a week before Lloyds plans to publish its annual financial results.
Lloyds expects to report a banking net interest margin of over 310 basis points and its return on tangible equity to surpass 14 per cent.
For the opening nine months of 2023, the firm’s profits climbed by 46 per cent to £4.3billion thanks to lower impairment charges and interest rate hikes boosting income.
Yet the FTSE 100 business, formed after Lloyds TSB bought HBOS during the global financial crisis, warned that the benefits from rising interest rates were starting to subside.
In the third quarter, its net interest margin – the difference between what lenders charge borrowers and pay savers – declined by six basis points to 3.08 per cent.
Lloyds Banking Group shares were flat at 41.4p on late Thursday morning, although they have slumped by around a fifth over the past 12 months.
