TSB Bank CEO Paul Pester to step down over IT issues

The chief executive officer of Britain’s technical crisis-hit TSB Bank, Paul Pester is stepping down from his position and leaving the lender after seven years as CEO, said TSB Bank on Tuesday (04).

Richard Meddings, current TSB bank’s non-executive chairman, will take on the role of Executive Chairman with immediate effect while the bank is on its hunt to find a new CEO.

Paul Pester was criticised for his works undertaken to handle the integration of new IT system in April, this year which caused to one of the Britain’s worst breakdowns and widespread disruption up to 1.9 million digital customers of the lender.

Pester and the TSB board together took a decision on his future, and that the decision did not symbolise any individual responsibility for the IT crisis, the bank said.

TSB’s announcement on the step down of its CEO came a day after online banking customers struggled to access their virtual money again, the latest technical issue in a sequence of defects since TSB faced chaos for many days following IT migration.

Peter who was sent on garden leave will obtain £1.2 million as fixed pay for his 1 year notice period and another £480,000 payment. All of the Pester’s variable payments will be forbidden and remains subject to performance criteria and the result of ongoing separate, independent regulatory investigations into the IT issues.

The technical problems started when TSB on its way to migrate its customer data from a system it was effectively providing from its earlier parent Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) to one built by Sabadell’s IT arm Sabis.

The planned migration was expected to save money, but has forced Sabadell to spend more than £180.14m.