It is understood the three-month, "no sacred cows" review of Lloyds' businesses has convinced him the life assurer is too valuable, given its strong cash flows and strategic balance, for the bank to sell.
The vote of confidence in Scottish Widows will lay to rest speculation that Horta-Osório was poised to pull the plug on the Edinburgh-headquartered insurance subsidiary in a move away from the "bancassurance" model to focus on high street banking and mortgages.
It is believed the Portuguese chief executive, poached from rival Santander to succeed Eric Daniels earlier this year, has decided that Widows can help shore up the bank's frayed relationship with its investors.
Sources say Horta-Osório believes that the cash thrown off by Scottish Widows will help in the restoration of Lloyds suspended dividend.
The bank, 41 per cent owned by the taxpayer after the bailout following its troubled acquisition of HBOS, was prohibited by the European Union from paying a dividend between January 2010 and January 2012 in return for state help.
Eamonn Flanagan, insurance analyst at Shore Capital, said: "Quite simply, there is no reason for Lloyds to sell Widows to meet regulatory capital requirements."
Lloyds declined to comment ahead of Horta-Osório's strategy statement on 30 June.
