SIR VICTOR BLANK’s first act as chairman-elect of Lloyds TSB Bank will come tomorrow when he invests more than £500,000 of his own money buying 100,000 shares in the bank.

“I am paying for the shares and it is equivalent to my first year’s salary. I think it is important to have a stake in the company that you are involved with. We couldn’t come up with a suitable formula to allocate shares with my salary so I will buy them myself,” said Blank as we met in Canary Wharf at the offices of Trinity Mirror, the newspaper publisher where he is chairman until May.

The 62-year-old was as calm and laid back as ever, which is extraordinary when you think of all the top jobs he is juggling. He is also astonished by the acres of newsprint devoted to his appointment as chairman of Britain’s fifth-biggest bank, putting it down to his cricketing prowess.

Investors also approved, pushing Lloyds TSB shares up to 515p after the news of his appointment.

But then Blank is rather good at betting on dark horses, perhaps because he was once a bit of an outsider himself.

He is thrilled at the prospect of his new role. “Lloyds is a super bank, with tremendous potential to grow even though it’s a tough and competitive market,” he said. “People point out that it has fallen to fifth position in Britain, but they don’t see all the fantastic things going on behind the scenes.

“I am still at the learning stage but what I do see is that Eric Daniels, the chief executive, has put together a superb team, which has perhaps not always been appreciated by the outside world.”

Blank said it was too early to say how Lloyds TSB would propel itself back up the league tables. Only seven years ago it was the biggest and most profitable bank in Britain — and Europe.

However, Blank wouldn’t be Blank if he didn’t have some ideas up his sleeve. He is too discreet to tell all now, and certainly not until he is formally in place as deputy chairman in March and chairman in May.

His timing at Lloyds TSB looks smart. Only days before news of his new role came out, the shares were trading at the highest level for three years, helped by rumours that Warren Buffett, the prominent American investor, had been buying and by a couple of City analysts recommending the stock.

The black horse is suddenly back in favour — spurred on by reports of growth in the wholesale bank and signs that Scottish Widows, its life-assurance business, is at last improving. Results for 2005 are due at the end of February and are likely to show pre-tax profits up to £3.3 billion plus a further improvement in total shareholder return.

But the City is itching for deals in the banking sector, and Blank is known not only as an excellent chairman with banking and retail experience but as a dealmaker.

Who does he think will be the first to move? He is not going to be drawn: “If I had a motto on the wall, it would be ‘value for shareholders’. The City believes the sector is on the brink of a lot of movement. I just don’t know and it’s too early for me to give a considered view on what Lloyds should do to stay ahead,” he said.

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