Lloyds chief paid £4.6m golden hello - Papers

Lloyds Banking Group paid a £4.6m golden hello to its new chief executive, Antonio Horta-Osorio, to bring him across from Santander, it has been revealed.

The bank's annual report shows he was paid £4.1m in shares and £516,000 in cash for giving up awards at Santander, the Independent reports.

This is on top of a long-term share payment of £4.5m and his basic salary of £1.06m, supplemented by payments into his pension, of which £600,000 a year can be taken as a cash allowance.

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BarCap: Portugal short of cash to meet debt payments

Portugal has insisted it can cope with looming debt repayments, despite predictions from analysts it does not have enough money to meet its obligations.

The nation faces around €9bn (£7.9bn) in bond redemptions by June, but analysts at Barclays Capital estimate it currently has no more than €5bn in cash, the Telegraph reports.

They says: "Portugal needs to find financing in the coming weeks in some way. In our opinion, Portugal is likely to find financing, but it is not in a comfortable position."

However, Portugal's treasury secretary Carlos Costa Pina has denied the claims, saying the country can meet its commitments for 2011 "especially the redemptions of long-term debt that will take place in April and June".

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SFO takes tough line on bribery by foreign companies

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will pursue UK-listed, foreign companies if they engage in bribery, despite an apparent exemption from the Bribery Act.

Richard Alderman, head of the SFO, warns companies will not escape prosecution by relying on an "over-technical" interpretation of the new law, the Telegraph reports.

However, in its guidance on the act, the Ministry of Justice says being listed in London does not necessarily mean a company "was carrying on a business in the UK" and therefore subject to the Act.

The Bribery Act will come in force at the beginning of July. It will make it a criminal offence to give or receive a bribe. Companies which fail to prevent employees or agents engaging in bribery will also be liable under the new law.

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