Fisher to Head IT at Lloyds

London-based Lloyds TSB Group has hired Mark Fisher as director of group IT and operations. Fisher, who joins Lloyds from Royal Bank of Scotland (Edinburgh), also has been appointed to the group executive committee (GEC), which will lead the newly named Lloyds Banking Group following the company's acquisition of HBOS.

Fisher will be tasked with finding cost savings for the group from the consolidation of technology, branch closures and job cuts, according to the firm. He is no stranger to tech integration, however. In 2000, when he was COO at NatWest, the bank was acquired by RBS, and Fisher led the integration of the two financial institutions. He served as chief executive of RBS' manufacturing division and was promoted to director of RBS in March 2006. The bank's manufacturing division employs 25,000 people supporting the group's activities including IT, property, purchasing and back-office services functions.

"[Fisher] has a deep expertise in banking, and his proven track record in dealing with highly complex integration activity will be a great asset to the new Lloyds Banking Group," said Eric Daniels, group chief executive, Lloyds TSB, in a statement.