TSB CEO Steps Down Following Botched IT Transition

TSB CEO Paul Pester has resigned, following an IT crash that left millions of customers locked out of their accounts over the weekend. The problems originated from an IT transition in April, when TSB moved millions of accounts from the Lloyds Banking Group system that hosted them to a new banking platform, known as Proteo4UK. Proteo4UK is the platform used by TSB’s Spanish parent Sabadell. It is an in-house banking platform based on Sabadell’s Proteo system. It was introduced to expand and improve TSB’s infrastructure and to facilitate a move away from the legacy Lloyds IT system, following the 2013 separation of the two banks. However, the migration resulted in some customers being locked out of their accounts, others reporting money disappearing from online accounts, and even some being able to see other customers’ accounts. In June, IBM published a report, noting that failure to adequately test for the software migration, as well as the move’s complexity, were the key factors contributing to the crash. The bank will begin the search for Pester’s replacement immediately. TSB chairman Richard Meddings will take on the role of executive chairman in the interim. Although there is more to do to achieve full stability for customers, the bank’s IT systems and services are much improved since the IT migration,” said Meddings. “Paul and the board have therefore agreed that this is the right time to appoint a new CEO for TSB.”