Sources said negotiations were close to being finalised after Barclays, which had been favourite to sign as a top-tier Olympic partner, pulled out of the bidding last month.

 

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) invited tenders from banks and insurance firms last October and Lloyds TSB, HSBC, Bank of America and Citigroup all threw their hats in the ring.

 

The deal will give the bank exclusive rights to use of the Olympic rings in its advertising and to run campaigns associated with high-profile Olympic figures such as London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe.

 

Brand Republic claims that sponsorship deal reflects a more decisive strategy at Lloyds TSB, following a high turnover of personnel in the marketing department over the past 12 months.

 

Former Lowe Asia-Pacific chairman and chief executive Nigel Gilbert was appointed as group marketing director for Lloyds TSB and UK retail banking last October, replacing Alan Silberstein, who was drafted in on an interim basis to replace Helen Stevenson, who left last March.

 

The sponsorship agreement is set to pave the way for a number of similar deals in the automobile, telecommunications and utilities sectors in coming months. Organisers need to raise £750 million in sponsorship to help meet the £2 billion budget required to run the Games, excluding the building of venues and infrastructure.

 

Lloyds has previously been involved in sports sponsorship deals as a backer of rugby union's Six Nations Championships.

 

Neither Lloyds TSB nor LOCOG would comment about the report.