Susan Rice, one of Scotland’s most influential bankers, has stepped down from the board of Lloyds TSB Scotland.

The decision was made at a board meeting of the bank, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group, this week.

Rice, who also sits on the court of the Bank of England, is to continue in the day-to-day running of the institution as managing director of Lloyds Banking Group Scotland.

Her chief executive role is to be taken on by Peter Navin, the head of retail banking for Lloyds Banking Group in Scotland, while the job of chairman will be held by the director of group operations Mark Fisher, who came from Royal Bank of Scotland.

It is believed the decision has been made to allow Lloyds TSB Scotland’s board to concentrate on the divestment of the brand, which is to be sold off to satisfy competition concerns raised by the European commission earlier this month.

An American-born banker who previously worked for Bank of Scotland, Rice has been chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland since September 2000 and was appointed chairman in 2008. She reports to Archie Kane, the Lloyds Group board member with responsibility for Scotland and chief executive of the Lloyds insurance division Scottish Widows.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said: “The changes reflect the need to support Lloyds TSB Scotland throughout the integration of certain operations as a result of the HBOS acquisition and the planned disposal of the business.”

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