Lloyds Banking Group's António Horta-Osório presented a cost-cutting plan, just 4 months after taking over as CEO.  Lloyds, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, plans to eliminate 15,000 jobs by the end of 2014 and scale back its overseas operations as part of a larger reorganization aimed at allowing the British government to sell its stake in the lender.  The government owns 41% of Lloyds.

The move is expected to save the equivalent of $2.4 billion annually by the end of 2014 - savings from reducing its international presence to fewer than 15 countries from 30, lowering computer systems costs and streamlining middle management.  Shares in Lloyds rose 6.5% in response.

“This bank has lost money and is losing money, and we have to get this bank back on its feet to support the U.K. economy and in order to enable it to repay taxpayers’ money.  This will be a journey, and it will take three to five years."   -- CEO Horta-Osório.

Lloyds, which received government funds to help it through the global financial crisis, is under pressure from the government to increase lending while also selling some assets to allow for more competition in the banking market.  The cost savings announced on Thursday would allow Lloyds to invest £2 billion in its brand and to expand its wealth management unit focused on high-net-worth individuals with links to Britain.

Lloyds ran into trouble in 2008 after the government urged it to buy HBOS, a British mortgage lender that was on the verge of collapse. But the combination pushed Lloyds from profits into losses and its stock slumped, leading the government to step in with a rescue package.   [Dealbook, 6/30/11]