Sir Victor joins Lloyds TSB at a tough time for the banking industry

Sir Victor Blank, the lawyer turned dealmaker who advised on some of the biggest takeovers of the 1980s, is to take up the position in May.

He will replace Maarten van den Berg who retires this year.

Currently chairman of GUS and Trinity Mirror, Sir Victor will eventually step down from both positions in compliance with corporate governance guidelines.

The guidelines say no one person should chair two FTSE 100 companies at the same time.

Trinity Mirror said earlier this week Sir Victor would resign as its chairman in May. He is expected to step down from GUS later this year, when a proposed split of its Argos Retail and Experian units takes place.

Sir Victor was formerly head of investment bank Charterhouse and was also a director of Royal Bank of Scotland from 1985 to 1993.