The widely anticipated move of the Central Bank’s deputy governor Matthew Elderfield’s to Lloyd’s Banking Group is expected to be confirmed later this week.

An announcement is understood to be imminent and will officially bring to an end, prematurely, Mr Elderfield’s tenure as Irish regulator after just three and a half years of a five-year contract.

It comes as the bank is due to announce first-quarter results today.

Yesterday, it emerged it was to shoulder a €296 million (£250 million) loss on the sale of its unprofitable Spanish banking business to Banco Sabadell, a deal that will bolster the British bank's capital.

Reports that Lloyds had been in talks with Mr Elderfield (47) emerged earlier this month but have remained shrouded in secrecy.

Neither Lloyds nor the Central Bank would comment on the move last night.

Mr Elderfield had been serving as chief executive of the Bermuda Monetary Authority from 2007 before his appointment to the Central Bank here in 2010.

He was brought in by governor Patrick Honohan as part of a broader effort to overhaul the Irish banking system in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

During his time in Dublin, during which he was on a salary of €340,000, the State has taken over five of the country’s six largest lenders.

An Englishman, he was the first foreigner to be appointed to the role and has been credited with introducing sweeping reform.

In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this year he referenced a key factor in his effectiveness: "I didn't know the bank CEOs. I didn't play golf with them. I just thought I'd call it as I saw it."

The revelation that he was leaving the Central Bank earlier this month was met with surprise and was quickly followed by speculation that he would opt for the private sector as opposed to taking another regulatory role.

He will perhaps remain best known as the man who appointed administrators to Quinn Insurance over solvency concerns and, in so doing, bringing about the downfall of the one of the country's foremost businessmen.
(Additional reporting: Reuters)