Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio (pictured with his wife Ana) is set to collect a £7million bonus on top of his £4million salary . The Chancellor faces a row over fat cat pay ahead of the general election as the boss of Lloyds prepares to collect a £7million bonus. The state-backed lender is expected to rush out details of the bumper shares windfall for chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio when it publishes its annual results on February 27. It usually publishes senior executives’ pay in its annual report in March, but is hoping to avoid a drip-feed of negative publicity. The shares bonus – almost 50 times David Cameron’s £142,500 salary – stems from a performance-related award given to Mr Horta Osorio shortly after he took the helm in 2011, which was signed off by the Treasury. It comes on top of a pay package worth up to £4million, putting the 51-year-old Portuguese chief on course to rake in £11million. However last night MPs said the size of the payout would ‘stick in the throat’ of taxpayers. Labour’s shadow Treasury secretary Chris Leslie said: ‘I can’t help but feel uncomfortable about the sheer scale of these rewards in a bank backed by taxpayers. ‘Until Lloyds is standing on its own two feet, I don’t think it should be lavishing its managers with so much money. The job is still only partially done.’ Lloyds has defended the award, pointing out that Mr Horta Osorio has hit strict performance targets – which include returning the bank to profit. The bank’s share price has also rocketed from 26p in 2011 to more than 75p, and taxpayers’ stake in the lender has reduced from 40 per cent to 25 per cent. But Labour’s plea for restraint was echoed last night by Conservative MP Mark Garnier, who sits on the influential Treasury Committee. ‘I consider myself to be a red-blooded capitalist,’ he said. ‘But this is such an unimaginable amount of money to 99 per cent of the world’s population that it does slightly stick in the throat.’ Chancellor George Osborne is desperate to avoid a row over pay at Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland ahead of the general election. For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, both lenders are expected to post an annual profit when they announce their results for 2014. Lloyds is expected to post profits of more than £2billion. Lloyds is expected to rush out details of the bumper shares windfall for Mr Horta Osorio when it publishes its annual results this month . This will be used to support Mr Osborne’s claims that the two bailed-out lenders have been nursed back to health under his watch. However a £7million windfall for Mr Horta Osorio will be seized on by Labour as evidence that the Government has not managed to rein in the banks’ excesses. Mr Horta Osorio is thought to be determined to collect his bonus. But Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, joined calls for him to wait. ‘While by all accounts Mr Horta Osorio has done a good job, the bank needs to show serious restraint until it’s back in the private sector,’ he said. A Treasury spokesman said: ‘We’ve consistently said that rewards at Lloyds need to be linked to improving its performance and the taxpayer getting its money back. We’ve ensured that the chief executive’s remuneration is linked to strict targets on these points.’
Lloyds chief executive is preparing to collect a £7million bonus .
Performance-related bonus was signed off by the Treasury in 2011 .
Bank boss Antonio Horta Osorio already earns £4million a year .
MPs said the size of the bonus would 'stick in the throat' of taxpayers .
Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio (pictured with his wife Ana) is set to collect a £7million bonus on top of his £4million salary . The Chancellor faces a row over fat cat pay ahead of the general election as the boss of Lloyds prepares to collect a £7million bonus. The state-backed lender is expected to rush out details of the bumper shares windfall for chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio when it publishes its annual results on February 27. It usually publishes senior executives’ pay in its annual report in March, but is hoping to avoid a drip-feed of negative publicity. The shares bonus – almost 50 times David Cameron’s £142,500 salary – stems from a performance-related award given to Mr Horta Osorio shortly after he took the helm in 2011, which was signed off by the Treasury. It comes on top of a pay package worth up to £4million, putting the 51-year-old Portuguese chief on course to rake in £11million. However last night MPs said the size of the payout would ‘stick in the throat’ of taxpayers. Labour’s shadow Treasury secretary Chris Leslie said: ‘I can’t help but feel uncomfortable about the sheer scale of these rewards in a bank backed by taxpayers. ‘Until Lloyds is standing on its own two feet, I don’t think it should be lavishing its managers with so much money. The job is still only partially done.’ Lloyds has defended the award, pointing out that Mr Horta Osorio has hit strict performance targets – which include returning the bank to profit. The bank’s share price has also rocketed from 26p in 2011 to more than 75p, and taxpayers’ stake in the lender has reduced from 40 per cent to 25 per cent. But Labour’s plea for restraint was echoed last night by Conservative MP Mark Garnier, who sits on the influential Treasury Committee. ‘I consider myself to be a red-blooded capitalist,’ he said. ‘But this is such an unimaginable amount of money to 99 per cent of the world’s population that it does slightly stick in the throat.’ Chancellor George Osborne is desperate to avoid a row over pay at Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland ahead of the general election. For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, both lenders are expected to post an annual profit when they announce their results for 2014. Lloyds is expected to post profits of more than £2billion. Lloyds is expected to rush out details of the bumper shares windfall for Mr Horta Osorio when it publishes its annual results this month . This will be used to support Mr Osborne’s claims that the two bailed-out lenders have been nursed back to health under his watch. However a £7million windfall for Mr Horta Osorio will be seized on by Labour as evidence that the Government has not managed to rein in the banks’ excesses. Mr Horta Osorio is thought to be determined to collect his bonus. But Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, joined calls for him to wait. ‘While by all accounts Mr Horta Osorio has done a good job, the bank needs to show serious restraint until it’s back in the private sector,’ he said. A Treasury spokesman said: ‘We’ve consistently said that rewards at Lloyds need to be linked to improving its performance and the taxpayer getting its money back. We’ve ensured that the chief executive’s remuneration is linked to strict targets on these points.’
Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta Osorio prepares to collect a £7million bonus. The 2011, which was signed off by the Treasury. It last night MPs said the size of the payout would ‘stick in the throat’ of taxpayers. Labour’s