The head of investments at Halifax Bank of Scotland’s (HBOS) UK pension fund has left her role, CIO has learned.
Larissa Benbow led the investment team for the HBOS Final Salary Pension Scheme since June 2011, having joined the £10.3 billion ($15.8 billion) pension in 2008. Her last day at the group was yesterday.
Benbow is a CIO Forty Under Forty alum, having appeared on the list in 2012, 2013, and 2014. She has also worked at Sungard.
In 2013, Benbow helped arrange a £2 billion “safety net” in conjunction with sponsor Lloyds Banking Group, involving a cash-and-assets injection of more than £1 billion. As part of the plan, Lloyds will make contributions into the fund from 2020 to help close its deficit. Harry Baines, chairman of the pension, said at the time of the arrangement that it would remove the need for a longer-term sponsor-funded recovery plan.
Lloyds bought HBOS in September 2008 at the height of the banking crisis, but was forced to negotiate a bailout from the UK government a month later. The government has been selling down its stake since September 2013, and now owns less than a quarter of shares, compared to its initial 43% stake.
Benbow could not be reached for comment. A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson declined to comment.
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