Lloyds Banking Group, partly owned by the UK taxpayer, suffered a fresh senior management blow yesterday when it announced that Nathan Bostock, who had been due to join from Royal Bank of Scotland as head of wholesale banking, had decided to stay put.

The London-listed bank said that Bostock, head of restructuring and risk at Royal Bank of Scotland, will not be taking up the job as had been announced on 19 July. As a result, Truett Tate will continue in his role as group executive director, wholesale, as has been his responsibility for the last seven years, as well as continuing his role as vice chairman, client coverage.

The banking group, which provides services including private banking, had already suffered a setback in early November when it announced that its recently installed group chief executive, António Horta-Osório, had taken a short leave of absence on medical grounds. He is making “good progress”, a statement from the bank said.

As a result, David Roberts, a non-executive director since last year and chairman of Lloyds’s risk committee, will take on the CEO role on an interim basis if Horta-Osório’s return to the job is delayed.

“The board is pleased that António is making good progress and we are looking forward to his return at the end of the year. However, we recognise it is important that we formalise the contingency arrangements if António’s return is delayed. David Roberts has impressed his colleagues on the board and the group’s senior management with his understanding and broad experience of the banking and financial services sector. He has a strong track record in retail and commercial banking experience at the highest level,” said Sir Win Bischoff, Lloyds chairman.