Lloyds warns of missing key financial targets, posts £3.8 billion loss

Lloyds Banking Group, which slumped to a £3.8 billion loss in the first nine months of the year has warned that some of its key financial targets would not be met. The bank's chief executive, António Horta-Osório, meanwhile remains offwork with fatigue.

The lender though insists that the Portuguese-born banker would be back next month, but admits that it would not be able to deliver on the income that it had hoped to generate by 2014 amid the "challenging" economic environment.

The chief executive's "leave of absence" was announced last week and since then the company's shares have plunged 25 per cent over the week, with his illness and the eurozone crisis knocking confidence in the bank. The shares did see a recovery to some extent yesterday, rising 4 per cent at 28.9p - but still left the loss on the taxpayer's 40 per cent stake at £12 billion.

Meanwhile, Tim Tookey, the finance director who is holding the fort in Horta-Osório absence is to leave in three months to join the UK insurance arm of Resolution and insists that it was 'business as usual' at the bank.

Tookey, is one of the last directors to survive from the management team that was involved in the rescue takeover of HBOS during the 2008 banking crisis.

He said, his biggest responsibility to Horta-Osório and his colleagues was to maintain the momentum so they could give the business back to Antonio in good condition with the same momentum and direction of travel that was there last week. However, replying to queries whether he would stay longer, he made it clear that he had already signed the contract.