Stressed Horta-Osorio takes Lloyds break. Will he be back?

SHARES in Lloyds Banking Group have fallen following the announcement that its Portuguese CEO, Antonio Horta-Osorio, is taking a leave of absence because of fatigue.
 
It is thought that the 47-year-old is suffering from stress brought on by overwork. Lloyds finance director, Tim Tookey, will act as Horta-Osorio's temporary replacement.

How long Tookey can fill in for is debatable. He is one iof the last remnants of the old management team installed by Horta-Osorio's predecessor, Eric Daniels, and is due to leave the company next February for Friends Life.
 
Investors greeted the announcement of Horta-Osorio’s leave of absence with a sell-off in Lloyds shares, which at one point this afternoon were down 6.7 per cent.
 
Horta-Osorio, who joined Lloyds in March this year, had been tasked with rebuilding a bank that came close to collapse in the financial crisis. He brought a number of colleagues from his former employer, the Spanish banking giant Santander.
 
BBC business editor Robert Peston said: "The big question is whether Mr Horta-Osorio will ever come back. The issue for him and his family is whether he is capable of doing the Lloyds job in a way that reduces the stresses and pressures on himself."
 
Lloyds claims Horta-Osorio is expected to return to his position "before the end of the year". ·