Sir Victor Blank, the chairman of Lloyds TSB, bemused photographers as he stepped from his chauffeur-driven car to face the media scrum yesterday afternoon.

The City grandee did not emerge serenely from the plush leather of a Rolls-Royce. Nor did he alight from a sinisterly blacked-out limousine, as did his Wall Street counterparts at the emergency meeting that failed to save Lehman Brothers last weekend.

Rather, Sir Victor arrived in a car that appeared more befitting of Noddy and Big Ears than a man triumphantly announcing the details of a takeover that would create Britain’s first “mega-bank”.

He did not travel far in the pint-sized electric G-Wiz - one onlooker said that he had appeared to have been driven to the press conference from the bank’s headquarters, 100 yards away. “Like an eco-friendly John Prescott,” a photographer quipped, referring to the time when, as Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Prescott used a Jaguar to travel 250 metres at the Labour Party conference.

Proceedings went from the ridiculous to the sublime when Sir Victor strode into the press conference to tell reporters that the deal had taken place only because he had been given the Prime Minister’s personal assurances that normal competition rules would be cast aside. “What the Prime Minister said on the night to me was the Government would give that support,” he said.

His choice of transport reflects his reputation in finance as a dynamic figure in a sector that still enjoys a residual gentlemanly reputation. Sir Victor’s distinctive red G-Wiz has become a regular fixture outside Lloyds TSB City headquarters. “He’s quite a fan of the electric car,” a Lloyds TSB spokeswoman said. “He likes cutting through the traffic when he’s on the way to meetings.”

For those occasions when comfort is paramount, he also has a Toyota Prius - the hybrid petrol-electric car beloved of Cabinet ministers and nicknamed the “Pious”, because of its enviromental credentials. “Sir Victor was instrumental in establishing a target carbon footprint for the company,” the spokeswoman added.

Sir Victor, 65, who lives in London but retreats to a manor near Oxford, entered finance in 1981 and master-minded Charterhouse Bank’s management buyout of Woolworth’s.

It's mean but is it green?

Cost £9,465 to £11,159

Carbon emissions 64g CO2/km (if electricity supplied by average producer)

Range up to 48 miles before recharging

Top speed 50mph

Running cost 1.2p per mile upwards

Safety The G-Wiz was criticised by the programme Top Gear for poor safety: it does not have to meet EU crash rules because it is classed as a quadricycle, not a car

Sources: goingreen.co.uk; Top Gear

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