"We do not comment on personal matters," it added.

The allegations come at a sensitive time for Lloyds as it announced two weeks ago it is cutting a further 3,000 staff and prepares to close 200 branches by the end of next year.Horta-Osório, who is Portuguese, has run Lloyds for the past five years and is highly regarded for turning around the lender after it struggled following the financial crisis.

(Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Keith Weir)