CYBG PLC (LON:CYBG) chief operating officer Debbie Crosbie is resigning to become chief executive of TSB, which suffered reputational damage after an IT meltdown earlier this year. Crosbie will replace Paul Pester, who resigned as chief executive of TSB in September after the bank's botched IT systems upgrade in April when almost two million customers lost access to online banking services.
READ: CYBG completes £1.7bn takeover of Virgin Money
She will step down as an executive director of CYBG with immediate effect but will remain as COO for a "period of time" to ensure an orderly handover to innovation and change director Fraser Ingram, who will take on the role on an interim basis until a replacement is found. Crosbie plans to join TSB next year after 20 years at CYBG. Crosbie was interim chief executive of Clydesdale Bank before the demerger of the brand and Yorkshire Bank from National Australia Bank to create CYBG, which began trading in London in 2016. Chief executive David Duffy said: "Debbie has made a significant contribution to CYBG over more than 20 years with the group, including as the interim chief executive officer of Clydesdale Bank prior to our demerger, and as an executive director and COO of the newly independent Group following our initial public offering." The news of her departure comes after CYBG completed the £1.7bn acquisition of Virgin Money in October. CYBG reports its full-year results on Tuesday. Shore Capital said: "While the group will be disappointed to lose someone with Debbie’s experience, it is perhaps not surprising to see such change following a high profile take-over.
"CYBG’s shares have come under significant pressure since the deal with Virgin Money was completed and now offer 35% upside to our last published fair value of 345p. "However, we will wait until the full year results announcement is released tomorrow before deciding whether a more positive stance is appropriate. Ahead of this, our formal recommendation is HOLD." In morning trading, shares in CYBG were little changed at 254p. TSB's current executive chairman, Richard Meddings, said: "In an impressive field of candidates, Debbie stood out. With over two decades of experience, superb retail and SME [small and medium sized] banking expertise, and a genuinely open and engaging style of leadership, we have found an outstanding new CEO".
READ: TSB's IT meltdown costs its Spanish owner €88mln in the third quarter
TSB's IT systems crashed when it attempted to move customer records from an old platform of its former owner Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LON:LLOY) to new one created by new owner Spanish bank Sabadell.