Bank of Scotland veteran Alasdair Gardner is to take the reins of Lloyds’ commercial banking arm in Scotland as it looks to grab a bigger slice of the SME market.
Gardner, who joined the bank in 1987 and was previously head of energy at its corporate arm, will be responsible for all of the group’s SME clients north of the Border, on top of his existing role as head of its Scottish mid-market business, which supports firms with a turnover of up to £750 million.
He said: “Lloyds Banking Group lent £1.8 billion to Scottish businesses in the first nine months of last year and it is clear that confidence is slowly beginning to return to the economy.
“I am looking forward to taking on this extended role as we seek to give businesses the confidence they need to grow.”
He reports jointly to Tim Porter, network director for commercial, and mid-market managing director Mark Stokes, who said: “This appointment will play a key part in helping us become the best bank for business customers in Scotland and with this widened remit Alasdair will now play an increasingly key role on the group’s Scottish executive committee.”
Gardner replaces Gareth Oakley, the former director of commercial banking in Scotland who is now the group’s London-based SME banking director.
Lloyds said last month that the £80bn Funding for Lending scheme (FLS) had helped boost lending to companies, with £1bn of support going to firms with an annual turnover of between £15 million and £500m – a year-on-year increase of 9 per cent. Lending to companies with a turnover of up to £15m rose 14.6 per cent to £779m.
The FLS, launched by the Bank of England and Treasury in a bid to ease the flow of credit to businesses and households, is expected to lead to an increase in corporate funding during the first quarter of this year.
Since the scheme went live in August, six of the UK’s largest lenders have taken up almost £4.4bn in cheap funds, but net lending grew by just £496m in the three months to September. The Bank of England said in its latest credit conditions survey that confidence among business borrowers remained “fragile” because of uncertainty in the eurozone and a weak domestic economy.