Lloyds chief confirms he will step aside

Victor Blank today said he will retire as chairman of part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group before the firm’s annual meeting next year.

Blank – who said it was “the right time for the group to appoint a new chairman” – has faced criticism over Lloyds’ rescue takeover of HBOS last year.

Lloyds will be loss-making this year as a result of soaring bad debts at HBOS but Blank defended the deal today.

He said: “I will continue working until my successor is appointed to ensure the successful integration of the two banks. This remains – in the medium term - a unique value-enhancing opportunity.”

Lord Leitch, who was appointed deputy chairman of Lloyds with immediate effect following a board meeting today, said Blank was a ``first-class chairman''.

“We are very sad about Sir Victor’s personal decision to retire, although we respect and understand his reasons for it,” he said.

Chief executive Eric Daniels added: “Victor has played a very important role as our chairman during a period of significant change for our company and at a time when there has been unprecedented volatility in the markets.”

Conservatively-run Lloyds TSB avoided the worst impact of the credit crunch, but HBOS has dragged it down with losses of almost £11bn (€12.3bn) in 2008 and the combined group will be loss-making this year.