Lord Leitch replaces Kane as Scottish voice on Lloyds board

LLOYDS Banking Group has moved swiftly to fill a gap on its board for a Scottish voice following the abrupt departure of insurance boss Archie Kane.

It is thought the appointment of Lord Leitch, group deputy chairman, as the bank's board representative for Scotland will go some way to dampening speculation surrounding the future of Lloyds' operations north of the Border.

Kane left the bank in March along with Helen Weir, executive director for retail, just as new chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio took over from Eric Daniels.

Leitch is chairman of Scottish Widows, which is the subject of fevered speculation ahead of the publication next month of a strategic review by Horta-Osorio.

There is deep division among analysts about the bank's desire to retain the Widows business.

Some see the unit as a prime contender for Horta-Osorio to offload as he continues to trim down the group's assets and bolster the balance sheet.

Leitch joined the board in 2005. He became chairman of Widows in 2007 and group deputy chairman in 2009. He will take on Kane's responsibilities for insurance and Scotland.

The bank is further represented in Scotland through its Scottish executive committee, which met in Inverness on Friday.

It will continue to be chaired by Philip Grant, managing director of Lloyds' UK private banking.

Leitch has held a number of high-profile roles in British corporate life. He is chairman of Bupa and until recently was a non-executive director at Paternoster. He was also the senior independent director at UBM. He has also held senior roles in social and community-led organisations. He produced The Leitch Review of Skills in the UK, now government policy.