Lloyds says CEO did not break expenses rules

LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) said on Wednesday its Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osório had not breached company policy after a British newspaper accused him of running up a big hotel bill while on a business trip to Singapore.Britain's biggest selling newspaper, The Sun, carried a front-page story on Tuesday accusing the married chief executive of the taxpayer-supported bank of running up the bill while spending time with another woman.The bank said the chief executive paid his own personal expenses while he was in the city-state for a conference two months ago. Lloyds Chairman Norman Blackwell looked into the issue after the newspaper reported that Horta-Osorio had spent 450 pounds on room service and items from the mini-bar, and 550 pounds on visits to the hotel spa, a source at the bank said."In this case there is no breach of our policy and the personal expenses are paid for by Antonio," the bank said in a statement.

"We do not comment on personal matters," it added.

The allegations come at a sensitive time for Lloyds as it announced two weeks ago it is cutting a further 3,000 staff and prepares to close 200 branches by the end of next year.Horta-Osório, who is Portuguese, has run Lloyds for the past five years and is highly regarded for turning around the lender after it struggled following the financial crisis.

(Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Keith Weir)