TSB’s boss is to leave the troubled bank with a £1.7 million payout after IT failures caused massive customer disruption earlier this year.
Paul Pester, who led the launch of TSB on its separation from Lloyds in 2013, will take home £1.2m in severance pay plus a “historical” bonus of almost half a million pounds.
The bonus relates to the time before TSB was taken over by Banco Sabadell in 2015.
And all other performance-related pay has been frozen as investigations into the technological chaos of the spring continue.
In April as many as 1.9m customers lost access to online banking services for weeks in a bungled shift to a new IT system.
Four months later, the lender – which is positioned as an alternative to high street giants – has still not resolved all of the problems.
An apology was issued to account holders as recently as Monday following more online and mobile banking access problems during the weekend.
TSB chairman Richard Meddings, who will assume the role of executive chairman until a new chief executive can be found, said Pester’s departure was made by “mutual agreement”.
However, he insisted the executive was “not the fall guy”, stating: “Although there is more to do to achieve full stability for customers, the bank’s IT systems and services are much improved since the IT migration. Paul and the board have therefore agreed that this is the right time to appoint a new chief executive for TSB.”
MPs on Westminster’s Treasury Select Committee had called for Pester’s dismissal over the IT trouble.
Commenting yesterday, committee chair Nicky Morgan warned a new leader would not ease the panel’s concerns about the banks performance.
The Tory MP said: “Since the IT problems at TSB began, Paul Pester set the tone for TSB’s complacent and misleading public communications. In this light, it is right that he is stepping down, but the committee remains concerned about the continuing problems at TSB, including unacceptable delays in compensating customers who have been badly let down.”
In his own statement, Pester said: “The last few months have been challenging for everyone at TSB.
“However, I want to thank all my colleagues across TSB for their dedication and commitment during this period and for their focus on putting things right for TSB customers.
“It has been a privilege to lead TSB through its creation and first five years. I look forward to seeing the next stage of our bank’s history evolve.”
Consumer group Which? called the change an “opportunity for TSB to finally get to grips with the IT crisis that has affected millions and ensure it focuses on what really matters – providing the great service the bank’s customers deserve”.
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